


Toddler Time

by TimidMarshmallow



Series: Baby FFXV [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Family time, Toys, learning, potty training, sippy cups
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2018-08-21
Packaged: 2019-02-10 10:14:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 76,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12909801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimidMarshmallow/pseuds/TimidMarshmallow
Summary: Regis has just adopted Prompto so Noctis won’t be alone.The young boys have lots of fun learning and growing together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To those who have read Daycare Days: Here’s the prequel!!! The first chapter is actually the portion from Chapter 24. I did this as a recap and as an introduction for new readers. If you remember what happened then feel free to skip ahead to Chapter 2.

Regis held the napping two year old close as he walked past the sylleblossom patch to the house.

Noctis was going to be so happy! He had been asking for a pet or something to play with while Daddy was at work. Monica had shown Regis his coloring books. Only the pages with two characters on it had been colored in. Regis had made up his mind quickly. His son needed another child to play with.

When he went into Niflheim Orphanage he looked around at all the children. Hmm, he should probably get someone close to his son's age so they'd have a lot in common. The headmaster had been explaining something when Regis noticed a small boy playing by himself.

He was absolutely adorable, with his blond hair, chubby freckled cheeks, and tiny fingers. He looked up, and his eyes met Regis' for a second. Regis Lucis Caelum felt love wash over him, the same fatherly affection that had filled his heart when he first held Noctis. Could this boy be the one?

The boy was stacking blocks, and he managed to get three high before another child came and kicked it over. Before he could rebuild it the bully pushed him down.

As he started crying Regis walked over and picked him up. He calmed down and leaned against the nice, warm man who had started rubbing his back. "Who is this boy?"

"Oh, that's Prompto Argentum. We only know his father's name, that's it. He's two, and he's only been here for a week. He doesn't speak much, just one or two words at a time. The other kids haven't warmed up to him yet, so they're still in the bullying phase." The headmaster explained that Prompto was a right mystery, and because he cried at every little thing the other kids made fun of him.

Regis was going to take this boy and give him a better life.

When he finally opened the door to his house with his new son Noctis had practically barreled him over, surprised to see a child in his father's arms. "What's his name?"

"This is Prompto, your new brother." Regis knelt down so Noctis could see better.

"Brother??? Can I hold him? Is he friendly? Does he love me? Oh! He's cute! I love him! Let me hold him, Daddy!"

"When he wakes up, okay? Please lower your voice until then, you don't want to scare him."

Noctis put a finger over his own lips. This was important, he could be quiet so his !brother!! could sleep.

Prompto woke up when Regis tried to lower him onto the couch. He looked around as Regis put him down, and he was confused. Where was he? This place was different, but it didn't seem scary like the other place, and where did all the mean kids go? There was just this nice man and another boy who was watching him.

Prompto started crying. He sat up and stared at the three year old who was smiling at him. Hmm. None of the other kids smiled at him. He sniffled and moved off of the couch to investigate.

Noctis surged forward and hugged him. "Don't cry! I love you!" Noctis kissed the blond hair that stuck out in crazy directions. Then he started poking the freckles.

That tickled. Prompto started giggling. This boy was nice too. Prompto held onto him, and when he went to go get some toys, Prompto followed.

Until he tripped.

"Whaa-aaa-ahhhh!" Noctis helped his new baby brother up. "You don't have to cry! Here."

Noctis grabbed Prompto's hand and shoved it into his mouth. The boy started sucking on his thumb. It felt soothing.

"I always cry. But I get my binky, and it's okay." Noctis would've given Prompto the pacifier, but it was all the way in his room and he didn't want to leave his brother alone while he got it. Besides, sometimes he used his thumb when he couldn't find the pacifier.

Regis had been taking pictures on his phone the whole time. "Prompto, this is Noctis."

The thumb came out. "Noct."

"Noctis, silly." The big brother corrected him.

"Noct. Silly."

"Well, he's right. You do act silly." Regis texted Cid to brag. He was ecstatic that the boys were getting along.

"No, Prompto. Noct-is."

"Noct. Is... Silly!" Prompto laughed and hugged Noct.

"Come on, Prompto, let's play!" Noctis led him to the room, walking slowly because Prompto was busy looking at everything. They finally made it, and there was a lady waiting in there. Prompto hid behind Noct with a tiny yelp.

Monica smiled and knelt down. "Noctis, is this your new brother? Hi sweetheart, what's your name?"

"This is Prompto and he's my new best brother friend and I love him. Look, he can say my name! But only a little bit." Noctis turned and grabbed Prompto's face. "Say my name, Prompto!"

"Noct."

"Good job, Prompto! Say it again!" The older boy clapped.

"Noct! Noct Noct Noct!" Prompto started babbling the name, and Noctis grabbed his hands so they could dance around and sing the name.

Regis came back in with some of Noctis' old clothes to see if they would fit Prompto and found the two rolling on the floor laughing. Regis put the box down and opened it.

Oh! So that's where it went!

Noctis snatched his old stuffed chocobo doll as Regis held it out to him. "Here Prompto, this is my other friend. He's a chocobo."

"Cho-co-bo." Prompto hugged the toy. He liked this bird thingy. Noctis started piling toys in front of the newest member of his family. Soon Prompto was buried under a pile of plushies and soft fabric books. "Help!"

Noctis pushed everything off, pulling him up and over to where Daddy was still sorting through the clothes box. "Daddy, we need to eat cookies."

"Eat?" Prompto lifted his shirt and started rubbing his tummy. He knew food went in there.

"Okay, but only a few. It's almost dinner time." Regis fixed the shirt and guided both boys to the kitchen.

Prompto was a crumb covered mess and he loved it. Noctis kept breaking the pieces up and giving him half before eating the rest himself. "Wes is really nice, and Cor, and you have to meet Luna and Cindy and-"

Noctis kept talking all through dinner and bath time. Prompto had been absolutely fascinated.

"-and I have crayons too, Prompto, and you can use them and oh! Look, there's a fly in here!" Noctis pointed at the insect that was buzzing around while they were readying for bed.

The fly buzzed too close to Prompto and he started crying. What was that awful sound? It landed in front of where Regis was brushing his hair, and it crawled closer. Prompto scrambled back, and Regis put the brush down to pick him up. "It's okay, it won't eat you."

How could this man be sure about that?

Noctis went to smash the fly. "Leave him alone, yucky bug!" Regis put Prompto down so he could catch the fly before Noctis squished it. He had just bathed, he didn't need guts all over his hands.

Noctis went to hug the whimpering toddler. "Prompto, don't cry. Daddy will stop the yucky bug."

Prompto buried his face in Noct's chest before turning slightly to suck his thumb. Noct just felt safe. It was so comfortable when the older boy held him, even more so than the nice man. Noctis didn't push him or laugh when he cried. He had a good smile, and Prompto liked when he smiled at him. Like right now, Prompto had looked up to see if it was safe and Noctis was beaming at him, still happy about finally having someone all to himself.

Baby brother wouldn't have to go to work like Daddy. Baby brother wouldn't have to go home at night like Monica, Weskham, and Cor. Baby brother wouldn't be at another house until it was time for a play date, like Cindy and Luna. Prompto was all his, to play with and hug and kiss... all the time! Noctis squeezed tighter.

The fly was herded out of the window, and Regis continued preparing his two sons for bed.

Regis tucked Noctis into bed and put Prompto in the crib they had pulled out of the garage. Regis had planned on storing it until Noctis had children, but it turned out the crib was needed now.

"Say good night to Daddy, Prompto!" Noctis lay down so he could see his brother across the room. Regis had considered putting it in his bedroom, but then he decided it would be best for Prompto to acclimate to this bedroom instead.

"Night night. Daddy. Noct." Prompto pointed at each of them. "Sleep?"

"Yes. Please lay down." Regis guided Prompto into a laying position, but the toddler started crying when he switched the light to the nightlight. It was too dark. Noctis bolted out of bed and went to climb up the crib bars. "Don't cry! It's okay."

Regis pulled Noctis off of the bars and put him back in bed before lifting Prompto from the crib. He put him next to Noctis. The blond quieted immediately. "Let's see if this is better. Alright, now it's bedtime. Good night. I love you." He kissed the children's heads.

Noctis whispered to Prompto as Daddy rubbed their backs. "I love you."

"Love you. Love Noct. Noct good." Prompto started sucking on his thumb again. He liked it here. Noct was the best, he wasn't mean like those other kids at the scary place. The nice man was called Daddy, but he was better than the other Daddy who had gone away.

They had been sleeping for a while when Noctis woke up crying. This woke up his new bedmate, and Prompto started crying too. He snuggled against the other boy. Noct. Noct had helped him stop crying before, why was he crying now?

Noctis finally noticed that Prompto was hugging him. "Prompto? Why are you crying? You have bad dreams? I do. But I like when you hug me. Don't stop."

"Hug Noct. Sleep?" Prompto closed his eyes again. He felt Noct kiss his head, and Prompto decided to try it out. He drooled up Noct's cheek.

"Don't eat me, its sleepy time. Love you, Prompto." Noctis started nodding out.

"Love Noct."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How will the Caelums’ first full day together go? Let’s see!

It took the blond a second to remember where he was. 

Cuddled with his new older brother in his new home in his new bed. Right. He liked this place, everyone was nice here. 

“Noct?” Prompto had woken up before his brother, and he poked Noctis’ face again. “Play?” 

Noctis just snored on. Prompto wiggled out of the bigger boy’s arms and scooted down to the floor. He picked up the chocobo doll that he had been given yesterday. “Cho-co-bo.” Prompto stuck one of the wings in his mouth and walked towards the bedroom door. It was cracked open a tiny bit, and the little boy opened it more to pass through. 

He hadn’t explored much yesterday, having been too preoccupied with following Noctis. The bigger sibling had wanted to show off all his toys, so they had only really played in the bedroom. So far Prompto only knew about his shared room, the kitchen, and the bathroom. What else was in the house? 

Toy still in his mouth, Prompto toddled down the hall. The sunlight was just peeking through the windows, so he could see where he was going. 

He tripped. 

Sitting up, he started crying. The chocobo doll sat on the floor and stared up at him quietly. 

Regis came out of one of the doors in the hallway, still rubbing his eyes. “Prompto? What are you doing here?” He lifted the boy and cradled him, shushing and rocking a little. “You’re okay now. Please calm down. My son.” Regis said ‘son’ with a bit of awe, still happy that the new addition to his family was loved by his eldest child. Regis kissed Prompto’s head. “Come, let’s go wake up Noctis.” 

Prompto leaned against Regis. “N-Noct?” 

“Yes, Prompto. He’s a sleepy baby. You’ll learn. Oh, you will have lots of fun when he wakes up though. He’s rather energetic when he’s awake. It’s a paradox.” Regis was sure that Noctis would drag Prompto all over the house today, showing him this and that while chatting his ear off the whole time. Noctis was rather excited yesterday and it was likely that the novelty of a sibling hadn’t worn off overnight. 

They entered the bedroom again. Regis put Prompto down on the bed and placed a hand on Noctis’ shoulder. “It’s time to wake up. Come on, your brother is waiting for you.”

Noctis stretched and opened his eyes. “Hhmm... Daddy? Oh! Prompto! Hi!” He sat up and crawled over to his younger brother to hug him. “Daddy, I need a new pull-up cuz I peed. Sorry. ” 

Regis nodded. “You were sleeping, it happens. That’s why you sleep in a pull-up. Let’s get you cleaned up and then you can try on the potty again, okay?” The three year old had just started potty training two weeks before Prompto arrived. It was still a new concept, so Regis and Monica were extremely patient with Noctis. They didn’t want him to get frustrated, because then he’d have trouble learning how to use the toilet and recognizing when it was actually time to do so. 

Hmm... the adoption papers said that Prompto would be turning three on October 25th. But the boy probably wasn’t ready to start potty training yet. He didn’t need a giant responsibility so soon after moving into a new home. Regis would give him some time before trying to get him out of diapers. Luckily Prompto fit into the same size pull-up as Noctis despite his smaller stature(it was a little big, but Noctis’ old pajama pants had held it in place), so the father had put one on his youngest son.

Actually, both boys had peed during the night. Bladder control is a skill, one not yet developed by the two toddlers. Regis grabbed two pull-ups and asked his sons to follow him. He cleaned them up in the bathroom and put the training seat over the toilet. He sat Noctis down on it. 

Prompto stood and watched. What was Noct doing on the white thing? He heard a tiny splash and then Regis and Noctis started clapping. Prompto didn’t know why, but he clapped with them. 

“I peed on the potty! Yay!!” “Yes you did! Good job!” Noctis wiped by himself and Regis moved the stepstool over so he could wash his hands with soap. Prompto was still clapping. 

Regis, curious, decided to put Prompto on the toilet to see what he would do. He didn’t expect anything to happen though, he really didn’t think he was ready. Noctis cheered his brother on. “You can go pee too! I’m a big boy who knows how to use the toilet, and I think you can do it!” 

Prompto sat there and waited for that splashing sound again. Regis shook his head after a minute, the boy had probably emptied his bladder completely already. Well, he could try again when he was a bit older. He took Prompto off and showed him how to wash his hands. 

Noctis tilted his head, confused. Why didn’t his brother pee? Was he not a big boy? Yeah, he was younger, but he was only a tiny bit shorter so he should’ve been able to pee? Maybe he was still a baby. Yes... That must be why. He couldn’t talk a lot yet either... Prompto was still a baby. Noctis tried to remember how Monica and Daddy had taken care of him when he was a baby so he could take care of his baby brother Prompto. 

-o-

Breakfast that morning was Altissian style toast, and Regis helped Noctis onto his booster seat before lifting Prompto onto his own lap. Regis didn’t think he needed to get out the old highchair. They just needed another booster seat. They needed a lot of things. Regis didn’t want to keep using Noctis’ old clothes, Prompto needed clothes that actually fit him. Noct’s outfits were a tad large for the blond. 

Regis tried to remember his schedule so he could plan a shopping trip. He had let Clarus know he wasn’t coming in today, and he asked the nanny to come later than usual. Monica would arrive sometime after lunch. Regis wanted to make sure he spent time with Prompto and Noctis. 

“Aah, here comes the next piece!” Prompto giggled and opened his mouth for the bite of food. 

Noctis watched like a hawk. So to take care of his brother he needed to feed him. The plotting boy took a swig from his sippy cup. Regis noticed the action, and offered Prompto his sippy cup too. “Do you want a drink from your cup?” 

“Cup. Noct has cup.” Prompto pointed at the other sippy cup before accepting his. If Noctis had one then it must be good! Mmm, it was. It had milk, he’d had this before!

After breakfast there was still some left in both cups, so Regis let them carry their drinks. The lids would prevent spills, so it wasn’t a big deal. Prompto immediately followed Noctis, who went to the living room. Regis went to grab a book for them to read. 

“Okay, Baby Prompto, let’s finish our milk!” Noctis plopped down, put his cup on the floor, and gestured for his brother to come closer. Prompto was surprised when he was suddenly grabbed and pulled onto the older boy’s lap. Noctis snatched the blond’s cup and held it to his lips. “Okay, drink.” 

Cradled in Noct’s arms, Prompto giggled and accepted the cup. What kind of game was this? Noct is silly. 

Regis returned with a book, and when he saw his sons he burst out laughing. He took a picture with his phone and sent it to Cid. He took Prompto from Noctis’ lap. “Noctis, he’s not so young that you need to do that.” 

“But he’s a baby! He can’t pee potty like a big boy and he only says stuff a little!” Noctis thoughtfully sipped from his cup as Regis explained that, yes, Prompto was younger but he wasn’t really a ‘baby’ baby. The blond in question just wiggled off of Regis’ lap to sit next to Noctis. “Noct? Cho-co-bo?” 

“Where is the chocobo, Daddy? Prompto wants it. I’m going to get it for him!” Noctis stood up and zoomed off without hearing the location. Prompto scrambled to follow before tripping again. Regis rushed to get there before the tears started, but he was too slow. 

“Waaa-aa-aaah!” 

Regis righted him and Prompto stuck his thumb in his mouth. “Do you want to wait here for Noctis’ return?” 

Prompto blinked and remnants of tears rolled down his cheeks. When would Noct return? 

Right now, it seemed. And with the desired doll. “Don’t cry! I found it, look!” Noctis made the chocobo dance and then smooshed it against Prompto’s cheek. “He’s giving you kisses!” 

The thumb came out so the doll could be accepted. “Noct! Yay! Love Noct got Cho-co-bo!” 

“Say ‘thank you for getting the chocobo’.” Regis wanted to help develop Prompto’s speech. It was obvious his biological father hadn’t tried, and Regis would not do his new son the same disservice. It would take a little time, but the delay could be fixed with effort and patience. 

“Thank you!” Prompto hugged the doll. 

“Say the whole thing. I know you can. ‘Thank you for getting the chocobo’.”

“Thank you. For. Get-ting. Cho-co-bo.”

Good enough for a first attempt. Regis was proud he had done it, but saddened at the obvious neglect. How could someone not provide proper care for one so young? He couldn’t comprehend it, he had made sure Noctis had the best he could provide. Yes, he was always working, but Noctis at least had Monica to fill in the gaps. 

Regis held up the book he had brought to the living room. “Let’s read this story, okay?” He sat on the couch and Noctis climbed onto his lap. “Come here, Prom! Daddy’s going to read!” 

Prompto went to climb up onto the sofa while clutching the chocobo doll. He couldn’t do it one armed, so the toy was abandoned. He was halfway up when Noctis jumped down and pushed on his butt to help lift him up. “Whoa!” 

“Haha, say ‘thank you’ cuz I helped.” Noctis climbed back up as Prompto thanked him. 

“Let him do it next time, Noctis.” Regis waited for both boys to settle on his lap, one on each knee. He opened the book and pointed to the picture. “What’s that?” 

“A flower!” “What color?” “Blue!” “This flower is called a sylleblossom. We have some outside. Can you say that? ‘Sylleblossom’?” Regis and Noctis volleyed back and forth as Prompto listened with his thumb in his mouth. 

“Syl leh sylley... blos-som.” Noctis struggled with longer words. He even called his friend Luna, because Lunafreya was too long. 

“Good try. We’ll keep working on that. Prompto, thumb out. Can you say ‘sylleblossom’?” 

“Sylle-blos-som. Silly blossom.” Prompto looked at the flower on the page again. Noctis had called it a flower, and Daddy seemed to want the blond to say more. So he copied his older brother. “Flower!” 

“Yes, very good! The story is about this sylleblossom flower. Once upon a time a princess grew a whole field of sylleblossoms. The flowers were so blue, and there were so many of them, that when the wind blew it looked like the ocean waves. One day the princess picked a flower and pressed it to make it flat. She put it in a book and sent it to her friend, the prince. The prince sent the book back with a picture of himself and his friend. That made the princess happy. The end.” 

Noctis pointed at the picture on the last page that depicted the smiling princess. “Why didn’t she just call her friends?”

“I don’t know. Maybe she didn’t have a phone?” 

“Can I play with your phone, Daddy?” 

“Okay, hold on... can you get down? It’s in my pocket.” Noctis jumped down off of his father’s lap, and Regis put an arm around Prompto as he leaned to the side. The phone was extracted and passed to the eldest child. 

“I’m going to call you.” Noctis walked away so he could ‘speak on the phone’ with Daddy. “Hi! I can see you.” 

Regis held his hand, mimicking a telephone, to his ear. “Hello!” 

Prompto reached for the phone that Noct had. He wanted to play too! “Me!” 

“Say ‘May I please have a turn?’ Go ahead, use your words.” Regis set Prompto down. 

“Please-“ 

“May I please.” 

“...May I please.” Prompto looked at Regis for the rest. 

“Have a turn.” 

“Have turn.” 

“May I please have A turn.” Regis emphasized the missed word. 

“May. I please. Have. A turn! Noct!!” Prompto stretched towards the coveted item with grabby hands. Noctis debated before handing it over. “Okay. Daddy, look! I’m a big boy who can share.” 

“That was very nice of you, my son.” 

Prompto pressed the only button on the recently received device. The screen lit up, and Prompto poked it. Nothing happened. The little boy liked how smooth it felt, so he gently ran his finger across the screen. His swipe opened the camera app. Regis noticed, and poked the ‘switch view’ icon. “Look, that’s you! Here, press this.” 

Prompto looked at the selfie. 

“Here, if you press this you can get back to the camera.” Regis showed him what to press. He took the phone and walked away from Regis. Prompto plopped down a distance away from the couch and started taking selfie after selfie. This was fun! Noctis joined him, eager for his turn with the phone again. The older boy took it from the younger’s grasp. “Noct!” 

“I want to use the phone, Prom.” 

“Phone! Me! Me!” Prompto put his thumb in his mouth and teared up when he saw that Noct wasn’t going to hand it back over. 

“Noctis Lucis Caelum. We don’t snatch. Please give me the phone.” Regis spoke evenly, but Noctis knew he was in trouble because his full name was used. Oh yeah. That’s right. Daddy always said snatching was mean. 

“Sorry, Prompto. Here.” Noctis shoved the phone back towards the blond, who took it but kept crying. 

“Prompto, please give me the phone and take your thumb out of your mouth.” Regis stretched out his hand. The phone was returned to its rightful owner. Noctis hugged Prompto. “Stop crying. You need to be happy.” 

Prompto sniffled and hugged Noctis back. “Noct? Phone?” He wanted to take more of those things of his face, that was so fun.

“Here. We’ll look at the pictures, but then we’ll play something else.” Regis opened the photo album app. 

Oh em gee. 

Prompto had managed to take fifty selfies by holding the shutter icon down. Various close ups of his nose, eyes, and chin filled the album. 

Noctis laughed. Prompto stared at him before joining. These... what did he call them... pictures! These pictures made Noct happy like they made Prompto happy? The little boy loved the camera even more now. “Phone! Please have turn!” 

Regis corrected him. Prompto repeated the phrase before holding up his hands again. Regis shook his head. “Let’s play something else now.” 

“Can we do blocks, can we can we!?” Noctis grabbed Prompto’s hand before he could be upset about being denied the phone. 

“Blocks!” Prompto loved blocks! He would build them all the time at the house before this one with Noct. He built them by himself a lot because the Daddy who had gone away was always busy and said ‘go play, I’m working’ a lot. Sometimes he had even built blocks with the television on, and the t.v. taught him new things. Hey! Maybe Noct would watch t.v. with him while they built stuff!

“T.v.?” Prompto grabbed Noctis’ shirt so he’d pay attention. The older brother gasped. “Can we watch some, Daddy, pleeaaase??” Prompto giggled and copied. “Pleeeeaaaassseee!” 

Regis smiled. “You’re quite the technophile, huh, little one?” First the phone, and now the television? What device would the boy ask for next? “Only one episode. Noctis, can you get the remote? Wait, let’s go to the bathroom first.” 

The family went to use the toilet and change the youngest’s diaper. 

-o-

Prompto sat on Regis’ lap again for lunch. He sang the alphabet song from the show again, he had been singing it ever since the episode ended. He had seen the one they had watched before, that show always came on after all the ads that said ‘call now and we’ll throw in a free one!’. 

Noctis stared. “You know your letters?” Wow. Even Noctis had trouble with the alphabet, and he was a big boy! How did Baby Prompto know all that already when he couldn’t pee potty?

Regis hummed in thought. He doubted Prompto knew the letters. He was just repeating what he had heard. Regis wondered if that’s how Prompto had gathered his severely limited vocabulary. Probably, considering how quickly he copied what Regis had asked him to say. However, him knowing the song was a start. They could actually teach him the letters. Maybe this would help Noctis too. If he saw that the little boy could do it, then the big boy could too. 

Lunch continued, and when they finished eating Noctis wanted to play with his toys in his room. Prompto followed eagerly, and Regis sat on the floor with them. “Here, why don’t you build with the blocks now?” 

The children played, and Regis started checking his emails on his phone. 

Noctis pulled out a toy train set to build for their block city. “Choo choo, this track is easy for me to do!” He snapped the pieces together. Prompto crawled over and put one of the track pieces in his mouth. The large plastic toy was too big to fit all the way in. 

Regis glanced up. “Take that out of your mouth, my son. Huh. Noctis, you haven’t played with that in forever.” The father tried to remember where he had even gotten it from...

Oh yeah, his cousin Ardyn had sent it a few years ago when Noctis was first born. It had been stored until now, because what kind of psychopath buys a train set for a two month old? Regis had pulled it out earlier this year, now that his son could actually use it. 

Noctis put the train on the completed track. “Prompto, look!” He turned on the train and it chugged along. Prompto stood up to watch it go around and around and around and-

“Please have turn?” Prompto tried to pick it up as it drew closer. Noctis surged forward at the same time to pick up the toy and hand it to him. 

Noct knocked into Prompto, who fell over onto his butt. The train kept going along the track. 

“Waaaaa-aaaa-aaaaaaaaaahhh!” 

“I’M SORRY!” Noctis felt horrible. He had hurt his new baby brother and what if he broke him and he didn’t mean to do that! Stupid train! It’s all its fault! “I’M-M S-SOOOO-RRRYYY-YYYY! Waaa-aaahh!”

Regis gently pulled both sons onto his lap. “It was an accident, Noctis. I know you didn’t mean to. Prompto, you are alright. Shh, shh, you’re okay, shh...” 

Figures. Ardyn’s gift turned out to be more trouble than help. 

Kind of like the man himself. 

Regis was glad he hadn’t seen him in such a long time, and he prayed it would remain that way. 

Noctis wiggled out of his father’s embrace and tugged on Prompto’s pants leg. “I’m sorry.” The blond stopped sniffling and twisted in Regis’ lap to reach for Noct. 

“I’m sorry.” Prompto hugged his big brother as he repeated the apology. He was sorry that he had fallen over. Wait... The other kids at the scary place had never said sorry or cried after they knocked him down. So the little boy thought Noctis was much much better than them. Noctis even gave him hugs, the other kids had never done that either! “Love Noct.” 

Regis piped up, that clipped phrase should have been a whole sentence. “‘I love Noct’. Say ‘I love you, Noctis’.” 

“Love Noct.” 

“No, say the whole thing: I love Noct.” 

“Love Noct.” Prompto didn’t understand why Daddy was trying to tell him that he loved Noctis. Of course Daddy loved Noctis, Prompto loved Noctis too. He kissed his brother’s cheek to prove that he loved Noctis. 

“I’m not saying you don’t love him, I’m asking you to say ‘I’...” He waited for Prompto to copy. 

“Love Noct.” Prompto finished the sentence for him. 

...They’d have to work on that more. 

“I love you, Prompto.” Noctis snuggled his brother. “Daddy, I’m glad I have Prom.”

Regis pulled them both into a hug. “I’m glad I have you two.” He had been devastated when his wife had died, but Noctis had prevented him from falling victim to loneliness. Regis was thankful that now Prompto would keep Noctis from being lonely when he had to go back to the office. “Come. It’s nap time.”

-o-

Monica had arrived while they were sleeping, and she had brought the boys a present. When they woke up, she gave it to them. 

Noctis snatched the blanket from her hand. “Look, Prom, this is a coeurl!” Prompto poked one of the thunder kitties depicted on the blanket. “Coeurl?” 

“Noctis, we don’t snatch.” “Sorry.” “Yes, Prompto, this is a coeurl. Well, a drawing of them, anyway.” She had bought the patterned fabric with the cartoon cat monsters a few months ago, meaning to make a blanket for Noctis’ birthday. Of course, she hadn’t had the time to actually sit down and sew it into a blanket. Last night she had cleared her schedule after leaving the Caelums’ house, and created the gift. 

It was for both boys, but she hoped Prompto would like it. The nanny wanted the new boy to feel comfortable around her, he had seemed wary yesterday. 

“A drawing on a blanket?” Noctis giggled, and Monica knew what thought was forming in his head. That’s what happens when one provides care for a child almost all his life. It becomes easy to read his mind and predict behaviors. “It was printed there on purpose, not drawn on with marker. We only draw on paper.” 

“Can we draw now?” Noctis zoomed off to get his art stuff. Prompto tried to cover himself with the blanket. “Coeurl.” 

“Do you like how soft the blanket is?” Monica positioned the fabric so it was on his shoulders like a cape. Prompto nodded. This lady was nice too. Noctis returned with his crayon box in one hand and two crumpled papers in his other fist. 

“Let’s draw stuff! I’m gonna draw........... Daddy!” Noctis sat down to capture his father’s likeness. Prompto watched, still wrapped up in the new blanket. “Daddy?” He looked around. Where had their father gone? 

Monica saw him searching. “He is in his office, working.” 

“Daddy went back to work!?” Noctis bolted up, crayon pausing. When had he left? Why didn’t he say goodbye!?

“No, no, he’s in his office in the house. He didn’t leave.” Monica reassured the eldest son that Regis hadn’t left without telling him. The boy calmed down and went back to drawing. Prompto simply watched the exchange with his thumb in his mouth. What did they mean, office? Why was Noct scared and then okay? 

The blond wasn’t sure how to ask, so he settled down next to the paper and watched his brother doodle. 

-o-

Dinner was peaceful. 

Monica had informed Regis of the minor occurrence, and the father sighed. Noctis hated that his father was always working. Regis hoped that when he went back to work his son wouldn’t throw a... Well, he supposed it would technically be called a tantrum. 

Monica had told him that Noctis would always get upset and cry and stomp around for a bit after he left. It wasn’t an everyday thing, but if Regis had been home for a while, like a weekend, then whenever he went back to work Noctis would get mad. Regis had been home all day today, so when he went to work tomorrow there would surely be a fit. 

Hopefully now that Prompto was here, the tantrums would become less frequent. 

Regis bathed both of his sons right before bed, and tucked them in. He read another story before kissing their heads. “Goodnight, my precious boys.” 

Prompto poked Noctis. “Noct. Coeurl. Look.” He held a bit of the blanket up, the rest of it covering them. Noctis yawned. “I know. I like it. I’m sleepy, Prom.” 

“Night night.” Prompto sucked his thumb and grabbed Noctis’ shirt with the other hand. The older boy hugged his little brother closer, and repeated what Monica sometimes said before nap. 

“Don’t bite the bedbugs.” 

...Close enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompto’s speech delay is me trying to work in his childhood neglect from Brotherhood. Noctis’ coming tantrum is an attempt to work in his fear of/frustration over the king’s failing health. 
> 
> “Wait! The boys weren’t this way in Daycare Days!” 
> 
> Dear reader, the boys have two years to grow! The most change happens within the first five years of life, so get ready for a wild (and adorable) ride!


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m working today and tomorrow, but after that it will be the weekend. Then we are going to the store to buy clothes for Prompto. Okay, Noctis? I’m trusting you to be a really big boy and watch over your brother. Can you do that?” 

“No! Work is stupid! Stay here, and play with Prompto and me!” Noctis folded his arms. 

“Noctis Lucis Caelum. We do not call things stupid.” 

Prompto watched the exchange from the sofa. They had eaten breakfast and then Daddy had brought them in the living room to talk. Noctis was angry now, and all Daddy had done was say that he was ‘working’. 

“But it is! Work is stupid because then you’re not here! Daddy, I don’t want you to go!” Noctis stomped his feet. 

“Stupid!” Prompto had heard both Noctis and Daddy say that word. Yesterday when they had read the book and played with the train Prompto had been asked to repeat what they said. So this time was the same? “Stupid! Stupid!” 

Regis knelt down. “No. Prompto, we don’t say that. Noctis should not have said it.” 

Noctis started crying. Now he was in trouble AND he made his brother get in trouble too and now Daddy was going to be mad and then leave and what if he stayed at the office forever because he was mad!?

“Don’t leave forever, D-aaaaaaddddyyyy! I don’t waaaaa-aaant you to gooooo!” Noctis stomped some more. 

Prompto watched his brother and then started crying too. Why was Noct sad? Prompto didn’t like that one bit. 

Regis figured he better stop Noctis first. Thank goodness he didn’t start work for another hour. As it was, Monica was late. Regis had decided to have this... discussion... with Noctis early so he would be calmed by the time she got here and then Regis could leave. “I’m not leaving forever. I will be back for dinner. My son, this is not the first time I work. You know I always come back to you. Now, please, stop crying. Look, you’ve made your brother upset.”

Noctis stopped and looked at Prompto, who kept crying. Regis picked Prompto up. It didn’t slow the tears. 

...If Noctis was sad that Daddy was leaving, then surely Prompto was even sadder? He didn’t want his baby brother to be sad like him. Noctis went over and tried to pull Prompto out of their father’s arms. “I’m a big boy. I’ll make him stop.” 

Regis was glad Noctis had latched onto this whole ‘big boy’ endeavor. It came in handy when motivating or convincing him to do something. “That’s right, you are a big boy. Like I said, I’m trusting you to be a really really big boy and watch over your brother. But throwing a tantrum when I have to leave isn’t ‘being a big boy’. What do you say?” 

“Sorry.” 

Prompto noticed that Noctis had stopped crying, so he tried to wipe his eyes. The blond rubbed his now wet hands on Regis’ dress shirt to dry them off. He wiggled away and went to hug Noct, happy that his brother wasn’t mad anymore. 

“Noct? Happy?” 

“I’m happy now.” Noctis had set his mind to his task of watching his brother. He was a big boy, after all. 

“Stupid.” 

“Prompto, no!” Regis groaned. 

-o-

The tantrums were very muted after that. Noctis had merely become grumpy after Regis left for work for the remaining two days before the weekend. Prompto was largely unaffected by Regis’ absence. 

No, the little boy would get upset when he thought Noctis was leaving. Monica had taken the older boy into the bathroom while Prompto was coloring. The blond had immediately burst into tears when he looked up and saw that Noctis was not with him. Monica had left the bathroom door cracked (so she could still listen for the other boy who was not on the toilet), but she opened it all the way so Prompto could see where Noctis had disappeared to. 

Regis and Monica had also tried to stop the word ‘stupid’ from being used so much. It was kind of a lost cause. Noctis would say it just to set Prompto off, and then giggle at the blond’s singing of the word. 

Which brought them to today. Cor, the family’s chauffeur, was driving the Caelums to the mall. Two out of the four occupants in the Regalia were in carseats. Regis had pulled out the one Noctis had used when he was smaller, and the father was grateful that his son had grown enough for them to have two seats. He didn’t know what they would have done if Prompto didn’t have the old one to use. 

Noctis whispered the naughty word to Prompto, who immediately started singing it over and over again. 

Regis turned around in his seat. “We don’t say that word. Prompto, stop. Noctis, you know better.” 

Cor asked how long he had been asking them to cease their usage. When Regis said several days, then Cor started planning. 

They parked in the mall’s designated lot, and exited the car. Prompto pointed at a bird flying by after he was freed from his carseat with instructions to stay put. The other man... Cor... stood with him. “Stupid bird!” 

Cor crouched a little behind him and clapped as loud as he could. The sudden loud noise startled Prompto, who jumped and whirled around to look for the danger. Finding nothing except that frowny faced man, he latched onto the closest leg. He began bawling, and crying for Noctis to come over. 

Of course, the closest leg just so happened to be Cor’s. Regis had been unbuckling Noctis’ carseat straps. 

Cor picked up the blond. “That’s what happens when you say bad words.” Prompto hid his face in the man’s chest. Bad things happened when he said bad words? Stupid was a bad word! Daddy and Mon-ica kept saying that it was. But Noctis always laughed when he said it... 

But if scary noises would come then Prompto didn’t like that word anymore. 

“Cor, why did you do that?” Regis lifted Noctis out of the seat and just carried him to the mall, Cor following with Prompto still glued to him. The chauffeur shrugged. “He shouldn’t say it anymore.” 

“Cor, he’s afraid of everything as it is, he doesn’t need you trying to give him a heart attack.” Regis hoped Prompto wouldn’t be scared of Cor now. 

The blond finally lifted his face from the shirt he had been hiding against. He poked Cor’s face. “Bad gone?” Had the man saved him?

“Yeah, the scary noise is gone.” Cor winked at Regis when Prompto beamed up at him. 

Right outside the big mall doors Noctis squirmed in his father’s arms. “Put me down, please.” Once he was on the floor he picked up the rock he had spotted. “Look, Daddy, a crystal!” 

Regis shook his head. They had been flipping through the channels on the television one day, and had stopped on a documentary about geodes. Now every rock was a crystal to the young boy. “Please put it back, you have enough rocks at home.” The box with Noctis’ collection was under the bed, and it was almost time for Regis to secretly dump some of them outside again. It was getting too full. 

Prompto wanted one... whatever it was that Noct had in his hand. He couldn’t see it. “Me!” 

“Daddy, I have to take the crystal, Prompto wants it.” 

“No, let’s put it back. Just because he wants something doesn’t mean he can immediately have it. Same as with you.” Regis held his palm out for the rock. Just because he was rich didn’t mean he was going to raise his boys to be spoiled brats. No, he wanted to raise them to be considerate and grateful, just like his father had raised him. 

“Aw, sorry, Prompto. No crystal.” 

Regis put the rock back on the floor and took his eldest’s hand. Cor handed over Prompto, who was still trying to see what it was that he couldn’t have. He gave up and leaned on Daddy’s shoulder as the grip on him was adjusted. 

“We should be done in an hour, but if we’re late then I’ll text you.” Regis bid his chauffeur farewell for now, and Cor went off to explore the mall while he waited for his employer. 

-o-

Regis hadn’t thought this through. 

Yeah, right now was easy, all he was doing was pushing the cart. He had Noctis buckled in, so he wouldn’t try to climb out. Prompto was sitting in the basket, still, as he took in all the new sights and sounds and smells. It was mid September, and all the autumn decorations were out. In fact, some stores already had Halloween stuff on display. 

No, what Regis hadn’t thought through was how he was going to get two kids and all their purchases (that they hadn’t gotten yet) back to the car. Before it had just been one arm for his son, one arm for the bags. But now he had two sons and only two arms. 

Damn it, he should have pulled Noctis’ old stroller out of storage. That would’ve made things simpler, Prompto could’ve sat right next to his brother. He was pretty sure they were both small enough to squeeze into the seat. The stroller had a basket underneath the seat, and he could’ve put everything they bought in there. 

Oh well, he’d figure it out when the time came. 

The family walked past a pretzel kiosk on their way to the department store. Noctis pointed. “Daddy, can we please get one?” Regis didn’t see why they couldn’t. Both boys had eaten all of their lunch before they had left the house. So he bought three soft pretzels, and when they were paid for he blew on them. Prompto giggled at his huffing and puffing. 

“I’m trying to cool the pretzels down because they are hot. Here, they should be okay now.” He distributed the snack and kept pushing the cart, stopping to bite his own pretzel every so often. “Do you like the pretzels?” 

“Mm, iz goof!” Noctis swallowed his piece. “It’s good, Daddy!” 

“Prompto? Do you like your pretzel?” Regis stopped pushing to move around the cart and check on his son. The little boy had stuffed his cheeks with the food. “Chew and swallow. Then take smaller bites.” They waited there while Prompto chewed. When his mouth was empty he held up his remaining pretzel. “Good!” 

“Say ‘pretzel’.” 

“Prezzle.” 

Noctis laughed. “Silly! That’s not how you say it!” Prompto saw that it made his brother laugh, so he said it again. 

Regis tried once more. “Pret-zel.” 

“Pret-zzzel. Prezzle.” Prompto took another bite. 

They finished their snack before continuing towards the store, Regis saying ‘pretzel’ over and over again. Noctis joined in singing it, and Prompto jumped in. He loved singing. 

“Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” “Prezzle!” “Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” “Prezzle!”   
“Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” “Prezzle!”   
“Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” 

Regis was going to stop, but then he wanted to see if Prompto would say it right again. 

“Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” “Pretzel!”   
“Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” “Prezzle!”   
“Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” “Pretzel!” 

Okay, so now he was alternating. Still, at least now he could say the word. 

“Look, we’re here!” “Pretzel!” “Prezzle Pretzel!” “Oh, wait, look Prom! Daddy, we found the store!” “Store! Store! Store!” 

Regis laughed at how easily the song changed. “Yes, we found the store.” He pushed the cart in. He went straight to the baby section to look for what they’d need. Hmm... clothes, diapers, a booster seat... Regis tried to remember what else they’d need. 

He grabbed a few shirts, some pants, socks, sweaters, and one of those baby bath sets. It came with a towel, a brush, and a bathrobe. 

Ooh! 

The family stopped in front of the rack with the sleepers. The footed pajamas came in all sorts of patterns, and Regis leafed through the display. 

!!! 

A chocobo one!! 

He grabbed two in his sons’ sizes. He showed them, and Noctis clapped. Prompto, who had been sucking his thumb, extracted the finger and reached towards the sleeper. “Cho-co-bo!” 

Wait. Where was his chocobo doll? He looked around in the cart, only finding the clothes Regis had put on one side. “Cho-co-bo? Gone! Waaaaa-aaaah!” 

Noctis twisted in his spot as much as he could. “Prompto, what’s wrong? Daddy, why is he crying?” 

Regis held the chocobo sleeper in front of his crying child. “Look, the chocobo is right here! It’s not gone!”

“Chooooo-cooo-bb-booooooo!” Prompto rubbed at his eyes. Noctis tried to open the buckle so he could get to his brother. “Daddy, take me out!” 

Normally he would’ve had Noctis ask with proper manners, but Regis knew that his eldest would be able to calm Prompto down. He moved quickly, not wanting to leave his son crying. “Hold on- I have to-“ Of course when he needed to open the buckle it would stick... Wait, there it went! 

“N-oooo-oct, get cho-co-booooo!” 

Regis realized that Prompto wanted his doll. He remembered that the blond asked Noctis for it whenever he couldn’t remember where he put it. “My son, that’s at home.” The father set the now freed Noctis next to his brother in the cart. The older boy hugged his sibling. 

“Don’t cry, Prompto. Chocobo is at home. Daddy said so.” The blond leaned on his brother as he tried to stop sobbing. He hiccuped, and resumed his thumbsucking. He was still upset he couldn’t have his doll, but now Noct was hugging him so it was okay. The older brother ran his fingers through Prompto’s hair. 

Regis kept pushing the cart, there were still things they needed. On his way towards the diapers he spotted some baby carriers. 

Oh, hello... 

Regis picked up the box that advertised that it supported up to thirty pounds and that it was comfortable for the baby and the parent. Noctis was too big for it, obviously, but Prompto... He was a tiny thing, and would fit into the carrier. Well, that solved the ‘only two arms’ problem he had been worried about earlier! He could carry Prompto in this thing on his chest, hold Noctis’ hand, and have all the bags on the other side. 

Satisfied with his plan, he put the box on the metal grating under the cart’s basket. 

-o-

Once again, Regis had not thought everything through. 

Prompto fit into the baby carrier perfectly. He leaned against Regis’ chest, and if he turned a little he could see Noctis holding Daddy’s hand. 

The problem that the father had overlooked this time... 

There was too much stuff to carry with just one arm. Regis was standing by the front of the mall, with a loaded cart and two children. One of them would be needing the potty soon, and the other one would likely need a clean diaper around the same time. Regis had tried pushing the cart through the mall doors to take it to the parking lot, but that had set off the alarm. A security guard came running over, and explained to him that the carts needed to stay inside the building. Apparently people in the big city would steal anything. 

Regis texted Cor, who replied that he was on his way. He had gotten held up in the shoe store, and was later than he wanted. Cor smirked when he saw how his employer had his youngest. 

The chauffeur took most of the bags, and Regis grabbed the rest. Oh, this was heavy. Having a child strapped to his chest used up most of his strength, it seemed. 

Noctis saw another family exiting the mall right before them. The mother passed each of her daughters a bag, saying that they were big girls who could help carry. “Daddy, I’m a big boy who can help carry! Give me one!” 

Regis stopped and put the bags down right where the sidewalk ended. “How do you ask?” 

“May I please help carry?”

He picked the lightest bag and handed it to his son before picking all the bags back up. Prompto poked his father’s beard. “Pretzel prezzle?” 

“No, it will be dinnertime soon. We’re going home to eat, okay?” 

Finally back at the Regalia, Cor loaded up the trunk while Regis buckled his babies into their carseats. The drive home was quiet, the children looked out the window at the other cars. 

Once they were home, Cor helped Regis carry everything into the living room before wishing the family a good night. As he turned to leave Prompto latched onto his leg for the second time that day. “Cor. Bye.” 

Cor ruffled the little boy’s hair. “Bye. You be good, okay, Prompto?” 

“Prompto good. Noct good. Daddy good. Cor good.” Prompto pointed at each of them as he said so. Yeah, they were all good. Cor left, and Prompto turned to ask Noctis for his chocobo doll again. 

“I’ll get it!” Noctis darted off. When he returned Regis took them to get washed up for dinner. All the stuff could be put away after they’d eaten. 

Dinner was devoured, and the boys played in their room as Regis began putting Prompto’s new things away. Noctis’ dresser was big enough that it could hold both boys’ items. 

It was funny, he had never realized there had been so much space. 

He was glad it was filled now.


	4. Chapter 4

“Daddy, wake up!” Noctis lightly smacked Regis cheek. “We’re going to Luna’s today! You said yesterday we could!” 

Prompto was standing next to the bed, chocobo doll in his arms. “Eat?” It was morning, and that meant breakfast. His belly rumbled to reassure him that yes, it was time for food. 

“Haha, listen to Prompto’s tummy! It said blrrgh! My tummy isn’t saying that.” Noctis resumed bothering his father. “Get up, we have to go!” 

“Hmgfn, alright, alright... I’m getting up. We’re not going right now, though. We’ll visit the Fleurets after lunch.” Regis yawned, and reached out a hand to ruffle his eldest’s hair. He then ruffled his youngest’s. “Let’s go eat breakfast.”

The father padded to the bathroom to get his sons ready for the day. When they were all done he took his turn, and instead of going to the dining room as asked the boys stood outside the door. “Hey, Daddy, are you pooping?” 

“No. I’ll be out in a second.” 

“Daddy?” Prompto wanted to yell just like Noctis. However, he didn’t really have anything to ask. 

“I’m washing my hands, hold on!” 

Prompto put the chocobo doll’s tail in his mouth. His belly rumbled again. He took out the doll to yell something else. “Eat Choco-bo!” 

Noctis laughed. “You don’t eat chocobos! They’re too big for your tummy!” The bathroom door opened, revealing Regis brushing his teeth. He rinsed and then confirmed the absurd statement he had overheard. “Chocobos are too big for your stomach.” Regis poked his own belly to demonstrate. 

Prompto blinked. Noct called it tummy, but Daddy called it stomach. Which did they want him to repeat? His belly had so many names now. He chewed thoughtfully on the doll as he followed Noctis to the dining room. 

-o-

“Watch out, toy snake! Hssss!” Noctis jumped on the sofa. “I’m going to stop that snake!” 

“Noctis, sit properly on the sofa before you fall.” Regis put the business report he had been skimming down. Prompto watched from the floor, wary of the fake snake that had Noct jumping around. “I won’t fall, Daddy, I’m a big boy and-“ 

Noctis fell off of the sofa, and landed on the plastic snake. 

The hard plastic snake. 

It dug into his back as he lay there confused about what had happened. Then came the tears. Regis rushed forward, and Prompto started crying because Noctis was crying. 

“Ow-waaaaaahhh!” “This is why I asked you to get down... Let me see, shhh, shhh, you’re okay, shh.” “N-Nooooooo-ccc-tttttt!!” “Prompto, shh, Noctis is okay, look. It’s just a small scratch.”

Regis had lifted the shirt to check, and Noctis only had a tiny cut on his back from the toy. “Let’s go get a bandage-“

“K-iii-iiisssssss ittt beeeee-tttttteeerrrrrr!” Noctis rubbed at his eyes. Regis lifted him to go to the bathroom to provide medical attention. “Let’s put the bandage on first, okay? Then I will kiss it.” 

Prompto followed, trying to see if Noct was okay. “Boo boo gone?” 

“No, it’s not gone yet. I just cleaned it off, put ointment on, and placed bandage over it. It will get better in a couple of days.” Regis explained the steps to calm both children. He spoke softly, and the sniffles died down. He kissed the top of the bandage. “There. All better.” 

Noctis pointed at Prompto. “Prom was crying, he needs all better kiss.” Regis kissed Prompto’s head. The blond lifted Noctis’ shirt so he could try this friendly healing magic. He kissed his brother’s back, missing the bandage. “Better.” 

“Yes, he’s all better now. No more jumping on the sofa.”

“Is it lunchtime?” Noctis wanted to go to Luna’s already so she could meet his baby brother. She was a good friend to Noctis, so she would probably be a good friend to Prompto too. 

“Almost. Why don’t we read a book while we wait?” Regis guided his sons to their room to pick a story. 

“Book! Love book!” Regis corrected his son, who tried again. “I love books! Daddy, Noct, I love books!” 

“That’s good! Let’s read... an alphabet book.” Regis wanted to start building his sons’ literacy skills. Monica had been trying with Noctis, but he just wouldn’t pay attention for long. 

-o-

Noctis was excited the entire drive over to the Fleurets. “Will she have the paste trees again?” 

“Pastries? Do you mean the ones with the ulwaat berries? I’m not sure. Haha, is that the only reason you want to visit?” Regis glanced in the rear view mirror to look at his children. He was driving today, no need to keep Cor waiting in the car while they visited Sylva and her children. Noctis was swinging his feet and Prompto was looking out the window, head leaning against the carseat. “Prompto, what’s wrong?” 

Every day so far Prompto had been infected by Noctis’ excitement, or had made his older brother happy by doing something sweet, but right now... He didn’t look too happy. 

Prompto looked at his father. What was wrong? Why did his belly feel like this? It hadn’t hurt when he was eating lunch... It only started hurting in the car. Regis repeated his question, more worried now. Prompto didn’t know which word to use to tell him the problem. Belly, stomach, tummy???

“My stummy. Ow. My stumstum.” 

Regis blinked. What? Prompto saw he didn’t understand, so he repeated himself. “My stummy!” 

Noctis laughed. “What’s a stummy? You’re so silly, Prom!” 

Why didn’t they understand that his belly hurt? Prompto started crying. He wasn’t trying to be silly! He was trying to answer Daddy’s question! “My stuuu-mmm-mmyyy!” 

They parked in front of the Fleuret household and Regis hurried to get to Prompto. Noctis was telling him that it was okay, he didn’t need to cry. Prompto kept stuttering out ‘stummy’ between sobs, hoping that repetition would somehow lead to them understanding. “Prompto, point to what’s wrong.” 

Prompto obeyed, and Regis realized that he had been trying to say ‘stomach’. Oh. It seemed obvious now that he knew. “What’s wrong with your stomach? Does it hurt?” 

“Y-esss... Stom-ach hurt.” 

Regis unbuckled him. Was it carsickness? Had it been caused by them eating directly before driving over? In any case, Regis was glad they had figured it out. “Okay, my son. We’ll go inside and then you can lie down. Sylva might even know of a way to ‘heal’ you. She’s awfully good at making people feel better.” 

He carried his son around the car to unbuckle Noctis. As soon as he was free he tried grabbing at Prompto. “I can heal him right now! Let me do it!” They didn’t need to wait for Sylva’s magic (Noctis was convinced she had, her desserts were yummy and she was super nice), he could save his brother himself. 

Regis knelt so the boys could see each other’s faces. Noctis wiped a tear off of freckled cheeks. “Prompto? Are you all better?” 

Prompto thought about it. Now that they had stopped driving his stomach was starting to settle, but it wasn’t completely ‘all better’. “No. Noct give kiss?” They had kissed Noct’s injury, so Prompto figured a kiss would help him too. 

Noctis kissed Prompto’s cheek. 

“No. Stummy.” 

“Stomach.” Regis corrected him and felt his forehead. No, not a fever. It really just was a touch of car illness. 

“Noct kiss stomach. Please.” Prompto giggled when Noctis lifted his shirt to blow a raspberry on the upset tummy. “Thank you Noct!” 

“Now that we’re all better, let’s go inside.” Regis carried his youngest and held his eldest’s hand as they walked up to the Fleurets’ door. He asked Prompto to press the button to ring the bell, and the blond did as asked. Noctis giggled at the chiming. 

Sylva opened the door. 

“Hello Regis, Noctis, and you must be Prompto... Oh, he’s just precious, Regis. He’s so much smaller, aww, what a darling boy.” She had received some of the pictures Regis had been texting, and had been glad that Noctis wasn’t an only child anymore. She often suggested play dates with her own children simply because she worried about her dear friends, the Caelums. Well, that, and Lunafreya loved playing with the younger boy. 

Prompto hid his face in his father’s shirt when Sylva began cooing over him. Noctis noticed, and commented. “Don’t be scared, Prompto. You have to meet Luna and Ray-Ray! Well, his name is Ravus but he likes when we call him that. Luna said so.”

Sylva chuckled, knowing for a fact that Ravus hated the nickname. Luna would use it whenever Noctis came over. Ravus had been whining about it more lately, and Sylva had to remind him that Noctis was technically a guest and should be treated with respect. 

Ravus didn’t like that she took Noct’s side. He was rather stubborn for a seven year old, and he believed it should be his way or no way at all. It was a contrast that spurred arguments between him and his sister often. Luna would get upset when Ravus bossed her around a lot. 

Sylva ushered her guests inside. Noctis immediately began telling her about his tragic back injury and how he needed the magic of her desserts to heal his aching soul. Prompto just watched her from his spot in Regis’ arms before looking around the room. He spotted a white puppy doll laying on the sofa, and pointed at it. Regis put him down so he could go grab it. He hugged the toy and toddled back over to the safety of his father while Noct chattered on. 

Lunafreya walked into the room. “Mommy, I can’t find my doggie!” She then noticed that the Caelums were here. “Hi Noctis! Hi Mr. Regis! Who’s that!? Hi, I’m Luna!!! Hey, you have my doggie!” 

Prompto put his thumb in his mouth as she zoomed over. Noct had said she was nice, but Prompto was still a little shy. Regis asked him to remove it and return the girl’s greeting and toy. “H-hi, Luna. Here.” 

“Thank you for my doggie! I was looking for her everywhere. On the bed, in the bathtub, in the kitchen... Where are you going?”

After returning the doll the little boy immediately went over to his brother. Noctis stopped telling Sylva about how much he loved her pastries, his brother needed him. 

“Noct?” 

“Yes, Prom?” 

“Play? Luna, Noct, Prom?” Prompto thought of something. “Luna have choco-bo?”

Before either of the older children could answer Ravus walked in. “Oh. Hello, Mr. Regis. Hi, Noctis.” He tensed and waited for the horrible nickname. When it didn’t come, he stepped closer to see why. 

Noctis was too busy comforting the little boy hiding behind him. 

Prompto pointed at Ravus as he clutched his brother’s shirt. “Scary...” Luna’s brother wasn’t smiling like his sister. In fact, he looked mad. Prompto didn’t know why, what did they do that this boy looked angry already? Noctis grabbed Prompto’s face so he’d pay attention. 

“Ray-Ray and Luna are nice. Please don’t be scared.” Noctis kissed his brother’s forehead and let go. “Come on, let’s play!” 

Prompto followed Noctis, Luna, and Ravus as they went to find a game. 

-o-

Luna shoved a paper into Prompto’s hands. “I drew this very important letter for you because you are good at finding dogs and you are cute. Don’t lose it!!!” 

Prompto put down his crayon and looked at the paper. “Noct! Look! Have this!” 

Ravus snorted. “What’s wrong with him? Why does he sound like a baby?” 

Noctis jumped up, drawing forgotten. “Hey! Prompto is my baby brother who is learning to be a big boy like me so don’t you be mean, Ray-Ray!” 

Ravus grew angry. This kid kept calling him by that dumb name, his sister loved Noctis even though he made Ravus upset, and now the brat was yelling at him for asking a question. He stepped closer and lifted his hand to hit him. 

Luna yelled. “MOOOMMMMYYYY!” She knew hitting was bad, and if Ravus hit then she was supposed to tell her mother. 

Ravus put his hand down quickly. 

“Hold on, dear, I’m coming!” Sylva opened the bedroom door. “What’s wrong, love?” 

Ravus pointed at Prompto in a desperate attempt to avoid getting in trouble. “He’s a baby, right? Doesn’t he need a diaper change?” 

Sylva checked the boy’s pamper. “You’re clean. But if you need a change then come right out, okay?” She kissed Prompto’s head. “Luna, what’s the matter?” 

“Ray-Ray and Noctis always get mad at each other.” 

Both boys shook their heads. It sounded like she was tattling, and neither of them wanted to get in timeout because then they wouldn’t get dessert. “Nuh-uh!” 

“Yuh-huh! You guys do!” 

“Nuh-uh!” “Yuh-huh!” “Nuh-“

“Enough!” 

“Waaaaa-aaaaa-hhh....” Prompto covered his ears and clenched his eyes shut. Why was everyone yelling now? He didn’t like it. Why couldn’t they go back to coloring nicely like before? 

Noctis zoomed over. “You made him cry, Ray-Ray!” 

“Wha!? No! Mom! He’s saying-“ 

Sylva held up a hand. “Both if you apologize to each other for fighting. Let’s go. Noctis?” 

Noctis mumbled a sorry into Prompto’s hair as he tried to stop the tears. 

“No, say it to him, not Prompto.” 

“Sorry!” 

“Ravus, your turn.” Sylva put her hands on her hips. 

“Sorry. Hmph.” 

Regis poked his head in the door. “Did I hear crying?” He had been helping Sylva make the coveted dessert when Luna had called, and it was taking a while for his friend to come back. He guessed that meant there was an issue. He had guessed right, from the looks of it. 

“Ray-Ray made Prompto cry but it’s all better now! He said sorry so I love him again.” Noctis finished his explanation and hugged his former arch-nemesis. Prompto rushed over to copy the action. If Noct is being nice to him then Ravus must be a good kid. 

Luna joined the cluster. 

The parents smiled before Sylva decided to intervene. “Alright, who wants to help make some delicious-“

“Paste trees!!!” Noctis grabbed Prompto’s hand and pulled him out of the room to the kitchen. Prompto kept pace, and though he almost tripped he caught himself. Regis and the Fleurets were not far behind. 

-o-

The children were messy with berry juice and flour, and Sylva was currently trying to wipe up Prompto. He had gotten the messiest, because Noctis would try to feed him berries while his mouth was still full. The older brother had missed a few times as well, and had smushed a berry or two (more like five) over freckles. 

The blond giggled as the washcloth swiped over his face again. “Warm, teehee!” 

“Yes, love, the water is warm. Stay still.” Sylva kept talking, saying soothing things to the boy. Regis had told her about how limited his speech was, and her heart ached for the child. She had told Regis to keep speaking to Prompto, he’d naturally pick more up. “I like your shirt, but oops! It looks like you got some berry juice there too. I hope it doesn’t stain... oh, it should come out in the wash, dear.” 

“More berries?” Prompto remembered he was supposed to say the word when he wanted stuff. “Please?” 

“No more for now. We will eat the pastries after dinner. There will be ulwaat berries on top of those. Can you say ‘ulwaat’?” 

“Ulwaat.” Prompto noticed some leftover berry juice on his arm, so he licked at it. The fruit had tasted so good! No wonder Noct had wanted them. 

As Sylva spoke to his youngest, Regis read the recipe book to Noctis and Luna. “It has to stay in the oven for twenty five minutes.” 

“That’s foooorrrrreeeevvvveeeerrr!” Noctis whined and Luna shook her head. “Can’t it go any faster, Mr. Regis?”

Ravus piped up from where he had been sitting. (He had been listening, but he thought he was too grown up to sit on Mr. Regis’ lap like his baby sister.) “Twenty five minutes isn’t that long! What if it took twenty five years!?” 

“That would be a long time to wait for some pastries, haha.” Regis chuckled and closed the recipe book. “What would you like to do until dinner time?”

“Can we watch my princess movie!?” Luna bounced as she requested her favorite film. Noctis nodded. “Yeah, that movie is nice cuz it has all the singing and dancing and the prince has a sword!” 

“Swords are the coolest! Can we Mom?” Ravus liked the movie too, but only because it had some action scenes where the prince fights the bad guy. 

Sylva carried over a much cleaner Prompto. “Yes, we can watch the film. Prompto, would you like to see it too?” 

Noctis nodded again. “Prompto likes the t.v.! We love watching cartoons, there’s one with ducks that drive in a van, haha!! It’s so silly!” Prompto clapped. Were they going to watch that show now!? “T.V.! Ducky duck!” 

Regis shook his head. “Not that show, my son.” 

Prompto tilted his head in confusion. Well then what were they going to watch? Noctis seemed happy about whatever was coming, so Prompto was excited to try too. He trusted his brother’s judgment. 

-o-

After the movie they had run around pretending to be the characters until dinnertime. 

Noctis stared at the disgusting, offensive, EVIL roasted carrot slices on his plate. He looked around at everyone else. They were all eating it without a problem. Even Prompto, who was sitting right next to him in Luna’s old booster seat. Noctis waited until Daddy wasn’t looking. “Here, Prom.” 

He put a forkful of the nastiness on his brother’s plate. Prompto happily ate the gift! “Thank you, Noct! Love you!!” 

Regis looked to see why his youngest was thanking his oldest. He scanned the plate and looked at the stuffed freckled cheeks. “Noctis Lucis Caelum. Where are your carrots?” 

“Uuummmm...” 

Prompto swallowed and pointed at his belly. “Stomach! Haha!” He was glad he helped Daddy find the missing food. He kept eating, job well done. 

“Noctis. If you don’t eat your vegetables then you can’t have dessert.” Regis stood to get replacement carrots. 

“But DaAAAaaaaaADDddDdyyyyy!” 

“No buts, young man. My pastries will not come out until all the vegetables are eaten.” Sylva waggled her fork at him. Ravus and Luna protested. “But Mom! We’re eating our food, why do we have to wait for Noctis!?” “No fair! Eat, Noct, eat!” 

Prompto latched on to Luna’s plea. “Eat, Noct, eat! Eat, Noct, eat!” 

Noctis grumbled. “Fine! But I don’t like it!” He ate the carrots, grimacing the whole time. He moaned for added effect. “I’m gonna throw up!” 

Regis watched, and determined the illness was indeed just drama. “No you’re not. Vegetables are good for you, and now that you ate them you may have dessert.” 

“Yay!” Melodrama was abandoned at the prospect of pastries. Prompto clapped too, glad that Noct was happy now and that those berry things were coming back to be eaten. 

The dessert had come out perfect! It was sweet, fragrant, and it melted on every tongue. The children gobbled the treat quickly, and Noctis immediately asked for more. Prompto still had a mouthful, but he repeated the request too. 

Ravus and Luna watched their mother, hoping that the guests’ presence would convince Sylva to allow seconds. She waffled, until Regis asked for seconds too. “Oh, alright. But all of you will only get an extra half portion, I’ll not be responsible for stomach aches.” 

She cut three pastries in half, and gave everyone their share. 

After dinner Regis washed his sons’ mouths and hands, and Noctis used the bathroom. Prompto needed a change, and Regis hoped that enough time had passed that his son wouldn’t become ill in the car again. They stood in the doorway and bid the Fleurets good night. 

Luna latched on to the Caelum boys. “Goodbye, Noctis, Prompto. I had fun playing with you.” The boys hugged her back. “Bye Luna.” “Bye bye!” 

Prompto hugged Ravus too, and Noctis copied his brother. “Bye bye, Ray-Ray.” “I’m glad we’re not fighting anymore.” 

“Yeah, me too. Bye Noctis. Bye Prompto.” 

Sylva knelt to kiss their heads. “Good night, boys. Regis, if you ever need anything, know that I am here.” 

“Thank you. Good night, my dear friends.” Regis held his sons’ hands and they all walked to the car. It was getting late, and the boys needed to get to bed. As they drove home Prompto yawned. “Noct? Love Luna.” 

“Yeah, I love Luna too. She’s nice to us. Daddy, are we almost home? I’m sleepy.” 

“We’re almost there and then we’ll get ready for bed.” Regis flicked the turning signal. Prompto closed his eyes, losing the battle against sleep. Noctis wasn’t faring much better. Regis carried them into the house upon arrival. 

They could shower tomorrow morning, no need to spoil dreams now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK AT THIS LOVELY ART BY ryoko126! 
> 
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/qS6gmPD2N8dw73uh1 
> 
> Thank you again XD

Prompto’s birthday was approaching (October seemed to fly by), and his speech had exploded. 

He was stringing together short sentences now, and holding simple conversations with Noctis. He was still a bit shy when it came to anyone else. Regis felt bad about using Noctis as a translator sometimes, but he was the only one who could calm Prompto down when he was frightened. 

And boy, did he get frightened a lot. They had discovered a lot of phobias. Noctis had convinced his brother to climb on the table once and that had ended with Prompto standing perfectly still in the center, afraid to fall off. Another time a spider had crawled past the blond’s leg. He had scrambled onto Noctis’ lap, afraid of being eaten. One night the nightlight had died, and Prompto asked for the light to come back. When it didn’t, he clung to Noctis until Daddy just brought in his desk lamp for them to borrow. 

Prompto did more than cry, though. The boy was actually quite smart, and had no problem learning and remembering everything Monica taught them. He knew all his colors now, and could count to ten consistently. He recognized most of the letters when shown and could say all of them. Noctis still had trouble with his alphabet, and would let Prompto take his turn when they played flash cards. Well, he tried. Monica wouldn’t let him cheat and totally depend on Prompto’s knowledge. 

Noctis’ temper tantrums had completely disappeared now that he had Prompto. Yeah, he still missed Daddy a little, but he had a brother to take care of now. He didn’t have time to be upset, there were games to be played with the younger boy. Monica was proud of how mature Noctis started acting. 

All in all, Regis was happy with how his sons were growing. 

-o-

Regis had been trying to get to Cid’s house sooner, but things kept popping up. Either he’d have to stay at work, or Cid would be swamped with repairs, or this and that... The one weekend Cindy had been sick, and Regis didn’t want his sons to catch whatever she had. 

But today they were going to visit his best friend, and that was final, no if, ands, or buts. 

As they walked into Cid’s garage after lunch they heard clanging and a loud ‘aw dammit’! Regis prayed his sons wouldn’t repeat that. Not even a minute later he heard a little girl yelling about ‘stupid wrenches’ that always went missing. 

Ah yes. 

Cindy had been the one to teach Noctis that word. 

Prompto gasped and covered his ears, this time he was ready for the scary noise. But Cor wasn’t there, so no sound came to terrorize him. 

“What are you doing, Prom? We have to go say hi to Cindy! You’ll like her, she’s nice and her voice sounds funny.” Noctis also couldn’t wait to show Cid how big he was now. His father’s friend always made a huge deal out of how much he looked like old Reggie, and acted like him too. 

“Cindy is nice?” Prompto stuck his thumb in his mouth, a little apprehensive about meeting the owner of the voice that said the bad word. He was still waiting for the noise. 

“Cid? Where are you?” Regis scanned under the cars, looking for his friend. The mechanic inched out from under the one furthest from the entrance. “Cindy, Reggie’s here. Come say howdy, monkey.” He stood up from the floor and dusted his hands. Not even two seconds later his granddaughter appeared, the previously missing wrench in her hands. 

“So, this is the pipsqueak ya been textin’ me pictures of?” Cid had strolled up to his partner in crime to greet him and his sons. “And there’s the prince, looks like someone took yer old man and made a lil Reggie.”

Noctis beamed at being compared to his father. “Yeah! Look, I have a brother and he is awesome like Daddy and me! His name is Prompto and he can only talk a little bit but more than he used to. Right, Daddy?” He pointed at his sibling, who was watching the Aurums. Regis chuckled and tapped Prompto’s hand, asking him to remove the thumb from his mouth. “Yes, Noctis, Prompto is talking a bit more. Well, not at the moment.”

“Coeurl got his tongue? Opposite of his brother here. This young’un’s chattin’ up a storm.” Cid bent down and flicked Noctis’ nose. Cindy waved at the shy boy. Prompto was busy staring at her. She had a cool hat. “Howdy!” She didn’t wait for him to respond. “Mr. Reggie? Did ya bring the Regalia? Can I fix it for ya?”

“There’s nothing wrong with the Regalia today, Cindy. We’re just visiting.” 

“Awww. I wanted to fix yer car up real good.” Cindy loved helping her grandfather with all the cars, but the Regalia was her favorite to fix. It was the prettiest car she’d ever seen, and that was saying something. It was also the only ‘custom classic’ she’d seen, a fact Cid was proud to mention. He’d often start his tales of younger days with praising the Regalia. 

“Maybe next time. Look, Prompto and Noctis are ready to play with you.” Regis gestured to his children. “Cid, can we take them into the shop or do you need help with what you were working on?” 

“It’s time for a break, I’m sure y’all heard me gettin’ angry as ya came in.” Cid frowned, his latest project was being a bit difficult. 

-o-

“Look, Paw Paw put this in the shop now!” Cindy held up some car fresheners. There were different scents, but they were all shaped like treants. She grabbed a light blue one from the box and shoved it towards her friends. “This one is my favorite cuz it smells like clean clothes.” 

Noctis accepted it and inhaled. “Mmm, smell this!!” He placed it under his brother’s nose. 

“Smells clean.” Prompto sneezed. “Tickles my nose, haha!”

Noctis snatched the freshener back and dropped it in the box. He used his now free hands to tickle Prompto, starting with his nose. “I can tickle too!” 

“No-o-oct! Hahaheeeheehaa!” Prompto attempted to grab the hands, but his brother was quick. Cindy joined in on the other side. “I love this game! Paw Paw tickles me too!” 

Noctis giggled at the squirming mess the smaller boy had become. His cheeks were flushed from laughing, and his hair stuck up a bit in certain places from when Noct attacked his head. “Look, Cindy! Prompto has gold hair like you and little spotty cheeks like you!” 

Cindy stopped poking at the blond’s ribcage. “Yeah, he does got them freckles, just like me! Hmm, but his eyes ain’t green like mine...” 

“No, they’re like mine a little. See?” Noctis opened his soft blue eyes as wide as he could and pointed. The other two examined. “Blue!” 

Cindy grabbed Prompto’s cheeks to hold his face still. “Hmm. His eyes look purply.” She stared at the light violet undertone. The boy was lighter than Noctis in every way, except his eyes. Those were a tad darker. The contrast was striking. 

“No, they’re blue like mine!” Noctis didn’t think the color difference was enough to call his brother’s eyes a separate color. They were blue like his, and that was final. 

“Nuh uh. Let’s ask Paw Paw. He’ll know.” Cindy skipped off, and the boys hurried to follow. “Noct?? Where Cindy going?” 

“We’re going to talk to Paw Paw Cid.” 

“Oh. He is grumpy.” Prompto thought his gruffness was different than Ravus’, so he wasn’t scared. 

“Yeah, but he’s still nice.” 

The children ambushed Cid and Regis, Cindy already asking about eye colors. Regis lifted Prompto so Cid could examine. “I’d say they’re violet. That’s blue and purple.”

Regis set Prompto back down. 

Cid noticed how he immediately went to Noctis. “Stand up straight, boy! You’re an older brother now, gotta set a good example. Reggie done raised a good lil man, so be sure to act it.” 

“I know, Paw Paw Cid! I’m a big boy, look!” Noctis tried to lift Prompto and carry him. It... didn’t work. They both toppled over and Regis righted them. “Be careful, okay?” 

Cindy grew bored with the calm chatter. “Come on, let’s go play!” She darted behind the counter of the auto shop and grabbed something from the shelf under the register’s spot. She held it out for the boys to see. “It’s lip balm.” 

“Monica has some of that stuff in her purse and it smells nice.” Noctis watched her apply it before asking for a turn. “Watch, you put it on like this. Here, you try.” 

Prompto held the tube. He rubbed it on his lips just like the other two had. 

Ooh! 

This felt nice! 

He kept rubbing and rubbing and rubbing and- 

“Prompto, can I have my lip balm back?” Cindy snatched it and applied some more before putting the cap back on. Prompto kept rubbing his lips together. They felt so smooth! 

Noctis peeked at what else was on the shelf under the register. “Hey! Paw Paw Cid left his phone here.” He picked it up and pressed the button. A keypad came up on screen. “What’s this?” 

Regis’ phone was never locked because he let his sons use it sometimes. (He had to delete loads of selfies often.)

“Oh. I know the code. I saw Paw Paw put it in.” Cindy typed the number and the phone unlocked. Noctis put it to his ear. “Hello.” 

Prompto reached for the device. “May I please have phone, Noct?” He smiled when his brother shared with him. “Pictures!” He navigated to the camera app. It was just like Daddy’s phone. 

Cid’s photo album was soon filled with shots of freckles, chins, eyes, and tongues. They made silly faces, but not all of the shots were in frame. Or focused. A few of the photos also had fingers covering the lens, or on the very edge. 

“My turn, Prom.” Noctis snatched the phone back. The blond tried to grab at it, but his brother held it up. “Hold on, it’s my turn now! You got to take pictures already.” 

“Please?” Prompto’s lip wobbled and tears welled. Noctis saw that he was about to cry, so he pulled Prompto into a hug. Arms wrapped around the smaller boy, Noctis held up the phone to use it behind Prompto’s back. However, during their negotiation the phone had locked itself. 

Cindy plucked it from his hands. “My turn cuz I know the code, teehee!” 

“What are y’all doin’ back here!?” Cid yelled and slammed his hands on the counter, laughing when they all jumped. Regis had wondered what they were doing behind the register and Cid had suggested they check. The father wished the mechanic hadn’t done that, he forgot to warn his friend about his baby boy’s anxiety. 

It was a good thing Noctis had already been hugging him, because Prompto burst into tears at Cid’s outburst. “No-oooo-ooct tha-at wasss meeeaaaa-aannnn!!!!” 

Noctis glared at Cid. “Not nice! Why did you do that?” The man at least had the decency to look sheepish. “Sorry, didn’t expect my lil trick to be so bad. Reggie, yer boy looks just like ya when yer hoppin’ mad.”

Cindy, unfazed by the surprise, stared at Regis. “Be mad, I wanna see!” She looked between Noctis and his father to try and compare, but Regis wasn’t angry. He was just concerned about Prompto, who had calmed enough to look at Cid. “Why you m-mean? And scary?” 

“Sorry, sorry, didn’t mean to give ya a dang heart attack. Forgive me?” He held out his arms, inviting the boy to give him an apology hug. Cindy rushed over instead. “Come on, Paw Paw is waitin’!” 

Noctis furrowed his brows. “Daddy, I’m still mad that he did that.” He guided Prompto over to their father. They had to pass Cid on the way. He scooped them into a hug as they passed, and smooshed them together with Cindy. “Gotcha! Hahaha!” 

“Daddy, help! Paw Paw Cid is squishing uuuussss!” Noctis started laughing, unable to remain upset. Prompto forgave the man. He made Noctis laugh, so maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. He spotted the phone still in Cindy’s grasp. “May I please have phone?” 

Regis shook his head. “Don’t let them use that, they’ll never give it back.” Cid let the kids go and took the phone to put it in his pocket. Noctis crossed his arms. “It was my turn.” 

Before any arguments could begin, Cid clapped his own stomach. “I’m gettin’ mighty hungry. Whaddaya say to gettin’ some grub?” Cindy cheered. “Crow’s Nest! Crow’s Nest! Pleeeeaaaaassseee!?” 

Prompto and Noctis joined in, and Regis held up his hands defensively. “Alright, we can go, haha.”

“Can we ride in the Regalia!?” Cindy had started towards her grandfather’s truck, but had halted when she realized that maybe she’d get a chance to sit in the beautiful car. Cid sighed, moving the carseat was a pain, but if she wanted to ride with the Caelums...

-o-

They all sat in a booth, and Prompto looked around eagerly. Noctis had regaled him with tales of fries and bubbly soda and it all sounded soooooo yummy! Cindy had also talked the whole ride over, something about a crow. Kenny? Was that it? Yeah, that was the name of the black plastic thing on the bench outside the door. Noctis had asked to sit on it, but Regis had told him to wait until after they had eaten. 

The food finally arrived and everyone started eating. 

Noctis compared plates. It looked like Prompto had gotten more fries. (He hadn’t, but it certainly seemed that way. In reality, Noctis had eaten most of his already while Prompto was slowly working on the pile of grease and salt.) The eldest son swiped a fry from his brother. Cid and Regis were listening to Cindy tell a story about her doll that had gotten covered in oil, so they didn’t notice. 

Noctis took another. And then a few more. 

Prompto was going to say something, but Noctis noticed and shoved a fry in his mouth before he could tattle. Prompto chewed, and then opened for another one. He thought Noct was playing a game, and it sort of turned into one. Noctis would put fries into his mouth and Prompto’s, and then try to grab more before they finished chewing. 

The plate finished, and Prompto grabbed what had been left on Noct’s plate. He took a handful and held it in front of his brother. “My turn. Feed Noct, yum yum yum!”

Regis was notified when the fries ran out. Both of his children wanted more. “Oh, you’re covered in salt. Wait, how did you both finish so fast?” He took some napkins from the dispenser on the table and wiped their faces. 

Cid copied with Cindy across the booth. “Paw Paw, this grease is like car grease only it tastes better.” “Ya can say that again.” “Paw Paw, this grease is like-“ “No, ya didn’t actually need... Never mind, monkey.”

Meals finished and Kenny Crow forgotten, Regis drove them all back to the garage to drop off the mechanics. As Cindy was being unbuckled from her carseat Prompto held his arms up. “Hug bye bye?” She climbed up and hugged him awkwardly, as he was still buckled in. Noctis demanded a goodbye hug too. Cid ruffled the boys’ hair before helping Cindy out of the Regalia. He took out the extra carseat, and the Aurums waved as the Caelums drove away. 

-o-

Regis pulled the blanket up to their chins, and Prompto snuggled closer to Noctis. The storytime book was being opened when they all heard a text notification. 

Regis pulled out his phone to check. Cid? 

Oh em gee. 

“Cid just said he had to delete ninety pictures from his phone. Here, look, he sent one. Wait, he says he kept this one.” He showed them the phone.

Prompto had perfectly captured all three of the children in frame. Noctis and Cindy sandwiched the smaller boy in the middle, and they were all smiling. 

“You’re getting better with the camera.” Regis was surprised, but Noctis nodded. “He is awesome, even though I wanted another turn but it’s okay. I still love you, Prompto.”

“Love you, Noct.” The blond paused before looking right into his father’s eyes. “Daddy? May I please have-“ 

“No, Prompto, it’s storytime. You can take more pictures tomorrow.” He had to resist the puppy eyes, it was bedtime! He succeeded, and his sons lay back down. He opened the book. 

“Once upon a time...”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ryoko126 drew Prompto with his chocobo doll: https://photos.app.goo.gl/QXt296ALTK6Kszmj1  
> Colored:  
> https://photos.app.goo.gl/QqCrDqjrSThLjzg63
> 
> Thank you!!!

“Chocobo Chocobo Chocobo~” 

“Yeah you have your chocobo and guess what!?” Noctis jumped up and down in place a little. Prompto put the doll in his mouth as he thought. Monica ran the brush through his hair again. “Take that out please.” 

“You’re three like me now! It’s your birthday!” Noctis clapped. Monica had reminded them when they woke up, but Prompto didn’t know why his brother was so excited. What was he talking about, birthday?

“Will Prompto get cake and presents like when we had my birthday, Monica?” 

“Yes, I think your father has something planned.” The nanny finished getting the boys ready for the day. “But it’s only breakfast time, so no cake yet.” 

“Awwwww... Come on, Prom, let’s go!” 

On their way to the kitchen, Prompto finally asked what was going on. “Noct? What bird day?” 

Noctis grabbed Prompto’s hands and bounced them up and down. “It’s your birthday so you get-“ “Noctis, wait, don’t spoil the surprise!” 

“Daddy!” 

Regis had caught up with them in the hall. “Your birthday is a day where we celebrate you and how much we love you. Happy birthday, Prompto.” He bent to kiss the still clueless boy’s forehead. Regis had figured that he either didn’t remember his second birthday or his biological father (the only name on the adoption papers) had never celebrated. Either way, Prompto was going to be loved and spoiled today, just as Noctis had been on his special day. 

The dining room table already had a stack of Altissian toast waiting, with a small bowl of ulwaat berries next to it. Chocolate milk sat in two sippy cups. Regis helped both boys onto their booster seats. “Look, Weskham made all this for you. We have to remember to thank him when we’re done.” 

“Ulwaat berries! Yummy!” Prompto still remembered the pastries from Luna’s house. He chewed the fruit before taking a sip from his cup. “Noct? Have more?” 

“I have my berries.” Noctis wasn’t sure what he was asking. Regis asked him to elaborate. “More of what, my son?” 

“More ulwaat please. May I please.” Prompto took another swig of his milk, loving the chocolate flavor. “May I please have more ulwaat berries.” Then he got back to his cup, tilting his head back to drain it completely. “May I please have more...?” He held up the now empty sippy cup. 

Regis chuckled at that. “Chocolate milk. Yes and yes. Here, eat some more of your toast while I get you your refills.” He quickly ducked out and asked Weskham if they had any more. The chef brought it into the dining room, awkwardly carrying the milk carton pressed against his chest with his arm. The same hand was holding the berry container. His other hand was covered with flour. 

Noctis pointed. “Are you making the cake!?” 

Weskham deposited everything on the table. “I’ve just started it, yes. Oh, and happy birthday, Prompto.” 

“Say thank you.” Regis tapped Prompto’s shoulder. The boy swallowed his food and thanked the chef. 

“You’re welcome. Before I start decorating, Regis, what color do you want it? I forgot to ask earlier. Most of the-” 

“Aaahh! Don’t say it! It’s a surprise!” Regis had asked Weskham to make a chocobo cake, and it seemed they had both overlooked an important detail. They needed to discuss this without giving anything away to the children. Not only that, but saying ‘chocobo’ would remind Prompto that he didn’t have his doll at the table. Then he’d stop eating to ask for it. 

“Yellow is the most common, but there are other colors. I’m not sure if he’s picked a favorite color... Well, yellow would match his hair, and wouldn’t the decorations be easier to see on yellow frosting?” Regis rubbed his chin. Hmm, time to trim his beard. It was getting long. Not today though. 

“The only decorations would be the orange beak, eyes, and I guess I could add red blush on the cheeks. Make it cutesy, he’s only three.” Weskham noticed that the children had stopped eating to eavesdrop. “Hey there, nosy, I didn’t make all that food for it to sit there...” 

“What are you talking about?” Noctis sensed something was up, with how secretive they were acting. Prompto knew the answer, he had figured it out when they had said beak. What other animal had one of those? He could only think of one. “Chocobo!”

Regis and Weskham were impressed. “How did he know?” “Wes, he’s a smart boy. And he’s obsessed with those birds.” 

As predicted, Prompto started looking around for his doll. “Noct, where my chocobo go? Please have it?” 

“Finish your food and then you can go get your toy. ...Yellow it is, then.” Regis finally refilled the sippy cup with chocolate milk. He started distributing the berries as Weskham rushed back to the kitchen. Noctis had an idea. “Daddy, can we help make the chocobo cake?” 

“I’ll bet you just want to taste the batter and steal some frosting.” Regis wiggled an eyebrow at his son. Prompto put down his sippy cup. “Stomach is full.” 

“I won’t steal any, I promise! Can I help pleeeeeeaaaaassssseee?” Noctis clasped his hands under his chin to beg as his father helped Prompto off of his booster seat. The blond giggled at this, and walked over to where Noctis was sitting. “Noct stomach full too? Come on, play in room?” 

Regis took his eldest off of his booster seat and the boys ran off. He looked at their plates. They had each left around half of their Altissian toast, having filled up their bellies with berries. He took the plates to the kitchen to pack the leftovers, not wanting to throw them out. After cleaning up he went to the living room to start decorating. His sons were distracted for now, but he needed to move fast. 

-o-

Monica held up another card. 

“Green!” 

“Good, Prompto, this is green. Go ahead and move your token to a green spot.” 

Noctis grabbed his brother’s token to do it for him. “I know where the green spot is, I can help.” 

“Noctis, please pass his token back to him. He won’t learn if you do it for him. You can move your token when it is your turn.” Monica waited for him to return the stolen piece and for the younger brother to take his turn. After the token was on the green spot she held up the card for Noctis to guess. 

“Orange!” He moved his token. “It’s your turn now, Prom.” They finished the game, and Noctis asked about the cake again. “Is it ready now? Can we go look?” 

“I’m not sure you’re supposed to look. It’s supposed to be a surprise, and it won’t be if you peek.” Monica looked at her watch. She had managed to keep them occupied for an hour with various games, hopefully that had been enough time for Regis to decorate. “Come to the bathroom, it’s been a while since you last went.” 

“Can Prom try the potty too cuz he’s three like me now so he can do it!” Noctis managed to get his pants’ zipper open all by himself. He conducted his business and washed his hands quickly, hoping he could get to that cake. He was so excited, he didn’t even dry his hands correctly, opting to shake the water off. 

“Can I potty?” Prompto pulled his pants down (there was no zipper for him to battle) and pointed to the toilet. Monica put him on, and he waited. He could do this! Noct did it, so it was Prompto’s turn! 

There was a tiny splash. 

“YAAAAAY!!!! YOU DID IT!!! MONICA, HE DID IT!!” “Good job, Prompto!” “Pee! In pootttyyy~” There was an awful lot of clapping, and Regis knocked on the partially open door. He had finished, and was coming to get the boys. “What’s all the commotion?” 

Three overlapping voices excitedly relayed the news. Regis clapped and congratulated his son. The boy was catching up fast, thanks to everyone actively encouraging him. “Is Prompto a big boy now?” 

“Yes, Noctis, he’s learning and growing just like you.” Hopefully Noctis would stop babying his brother now. Regis doubted it. Simply stating that Prompto was a ‘big boy’ wouldn’t magically change their habits. 

Monica had been showing Prompto how to wipe and wash his hands during Noctis’ and Regis’ conversation. “Um, Regis, how much more time do you need?”

“Oh, it’s all ready now. Thank you, Monica. Come see the surprise, my sons. Well, part of the surprise.”

The living room was filled with balloons. Some of them were floating, others were strewn across the floor, and a couple lay on the sofa. Regis had gotten the floating balloons yesterday and had hidden them in the closet. The boys were none the wiser. 

“Wow!” “What this?” 

“‘What IS this’, Prompto. ‘These’ are balloons. Go ahead, you can play with them.” Regis watched as Noctis immediately leapt onto the sofa to grab the balloons there. 

Prompto shuffled up to a light blue one. He picked it up and squished it a little. “Haha, puffy fluffy!” Noctis threw one, and Prompto hesitantly copied. The balloon gently bobbed to the floor and bounced. The blond grabbed a red one and chucked it. 

Well, he tried. It didn’t go far. 

Noctis threw a balloon at his brother, guffawing as it bounced off his head. Prompto retaliated with the one he had tried to launch across the room. His peals of laughter were punctuated with him yelling for Noct to stop throwing balloons. 

Regis held up a balloon that he hadn’t inflated. “Watch this.” The boys ran over to see what Daddy was doing. He blew the balloon up, but didn’t tie it closed. “Ready?” 

Prompto tried to poke it, but Regis let go. 

It zoomed away, up and over and around the living room. It squealed as it deflated and landed limply on the floor. Noctis darted over to grab it. “This is awesome! Again, Daddy, again, again!!” 

Prompto watched with wonder as it flew around again. “Fluffy puffy go go go!!!” He toddled after the zipping balloon, trying to catch it. When it fell to the floor he picked it up and ran it over to Daddy. 

Regis filled and released the balloon two more times before denying their request, panting. “I need to catch my breath, hold on.” 

“Do it again!” “Again, hahaha, again!” 

The doorbell rang. 

“Who is that?” Noctis kicked a balloon out of his way and started towards the door. Regis shook his head. He had invited the Fleurets and the Aurums, so it was one of the two families outside. “Stay here, I’ll get the door.” 

Prompto picked up a balloon and hugged it, giggling. “Love fluffy puffy balloons.” Noctis tried to stomp on one but it kept skittering away from him. “Yeah, me too!”

-o-

The birthday cake was presented after lunch instead of after dinner. It has taken quite a bit of time to convince Prompto to leave the balloons alone, because he kept showing Noctis, Regis, and all their guests his amazing ‘look-how-this-bounces-when-I-throw-it’ trick. Luna and Cindy had joined in upon their arrival. Even Ravus had fun with the balloons, despite the fact that four younger children were now calling him Ray-Ray. 

Weskham lifted the cover from the cake stand, and Regis held his breath for a second. He hoped his son liked it. 

“A CHOCOBO!” 

Prompto went to stick a finger in the icing so he could taste his cake. 

“No no no no no, wait, wait! Here, you have to blow out the candles after we sing to you!” Regis stuck candles on the chocobo’s cheeks and Monica lit them. She had gone to help Weskham while the boys played with the balloons. 

Noctis started the birthday song before they were done lighting the candles. Everyone joined in regardless. Prompto looked around and started trying to sing too. He didn’t know the words, but he loved singing so it didn’t matter. “Hmm da doo doo la la, happy la la too doo. Da di dada lalooloo, dumdee doo da da da!” 

Noctis went to blow out the candles. “No no no, it’s Prompto’s turn, my son, hahaha.” Regis picked up Noctis as Prompto stood on the chair to try what Noctis had just done. Sylva moved closer, in case Prompto leaned too close or fell over. “Go ahead, darling, just blow air at the fire.” 

Cid chuckled as Prompto huffed and puffed. “Pipsqueak might need some help. Ya should let his brother back over, Reggie.” 

Prompto managed to get the flames out without Noctis’ assistance. The older boy was put back down so the cake could be cut. Weskham passed Regis the knife, and he stopped picking out the candles to accept it. 

The freshly turned three year old recognized that his Daddy had a bad bad knife. Prompto and Noctis were taught that knives were not toys and they should never be touched. So why did Daddy have one now? By his precious chocobo cake!!? “STOP! Knife bad! Makes boo boos! Don’t boo boo chocobo!” 

The adults chuckled at his innocence. Then suddenly everyone was talking at once. 

“Sweetheart, the cake won’t get hurt. You’re supposed to cut it so we can eat it.” “Reggie, this kid is too cute.” “Daddy, can I have cake now?” “I’m hungry!” “No you’re not you just ate. Mom, Luna’s being annoying again.” “Stop teasing your sister.” “Paw Paw is the cake ready yet?” “No boo boo chocobo!” “Noctis, hold on a second please. I have to cut it first. Prompto, it’s okay, look-“ “Nooo!” 

Prompto burst into tears as Regis moved the knife to the cake. There was too much chatter and his new chocobo was about to get hurt by the bad bad knife. “Noct, my choooocccooobbbooo ge-ee-ttt boooo boooo!” 

Luna poked him. “It’s okay, don’t cry!” The other children flocked to him. Noctis tried to climb onto the chair to hug him. “Prom, cake time! Daddy is going to give us cake.” 

Regis was awkwardly holding the knife, hovering above the cake where Prompto’s distress had stopped him. “What should I do about the cake, then?” 

“Just cut it. He ain’t gonna learn if you don’t show him.” Cid shook his head. Reggie was a good father, but sometimes he was just as much of a knucklehead as Cid remembered. 

Sylva scoffed. “And further traumatize the boy on his birthday? Maybe it would be wise to practice with a cake that doesn’t have his favorite animal’s face, but chopping up a chocobo right in front of him isn’t the best lesson. Regis, I’m going to take him to the other room. Go ahead and cut it then, and we’ll come back when you’re done.”

Monica helped her extract the birthday boy from his brother’s grip. Noctis watched him leave the room before turning his attention back to the cake. “Prom will get cake too, right?” “Yes, Noctis. That was sweet of you to ask.” 

In the kitchen, Sylva held Prompto. “Chocobo be okay?” 

“Prompto, that’s a cake, not a real chocobo. That one is for eating, like sandwiches or muffins. Do you have a chocobo for playing? We could hold that instead of being sad about the cake.” 

“Chocobo doll in...” Where did he leave that toy? He sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Room.” 

“Your bedroom?” 

“Yes.” 

“So let’s go get it. Can you say this? ‘My chocobo is in my bedroom.’” She had noticed that he was speaking more, but the little connector words were being forgotten. He repeated what she had asked as they retrieved his beloved doll. They went back to the dining room. 

Regis took his son from Sylva and held a forkful of cake. “Here, taste it. It’s just cake, see?” Prompto didn’t see his chocobo anywhere, just plates of cake. He hugged his doll closer and opened his mouth. He’d look for the missing chocobo later. 

Noctis swallowed his own piece. “Do you like it? I do. It’s yummy.” He went back to devouring his slice. Prompto chewed and answered. “Cake is good. May I please have cake?” Regis gave him the next piece, and everyone was glad that he liked the flavor despite the initial... horror. 

-o-

The rest of the day wasn’t as harrowing. Present time had followed, and Prompto said ‘thank you’ to everyone without his father needing to tell him to. Noctis had tried to take one or two things (like that super cool tractor from Cindy), but he was reminded that he needed to ask for a turn. 

Dinner was quiet compared to lunch, especially since all the guests went home. 

Bath time had been rushed, Prompto wanted to get back to playing with his stuff. Regis decided to give the boys an extra ten minutes before bed, it was one last little birthday surprise. The father ran the brush through Noctis’ hair as Prompto sat on the bed with his gifts. 

There were a few chocobo themed items, which made the boy forget all about the chocobo cake that was still missing. He hadn’t had a chance to search for it. “Noct? Share blanket?” 

He held up his new blanket, and lay back on the bed after covering his legs. Noctis left his father’s lap so he could share as asked. 

“Hold on, let me move the toys and clothes. There, much better. Are you tired now? You still have two minutes left.” Regis smiled when he noticed Prompto was already falling asleep. Noctis wrapped an arm around his brother’s waist. “Happy Birthday.” 

Regis covered them properly with the blanket and kissed their heads. “Goodnight, my big three year olds.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Daycare Days readers: So do remember the trouble with Regis’ closet doorknob? Here’s how that happened. I’ve been waiting forever to reveal this because I actually saw a kid do what Noct does.

“Please don’t jump on the bed.” 

Noctis sat back down next to Prompto, who was watching Regis get ready for the day. They had several places to be, so he was up early for once. “Prompto, thumb out.”

“Daddy, why are you wearing a tie?” 

“Because today we have to go to the bank to sort something out for work, and then I have a meeting, and then we are going to a restaurant. A new one opened not far from the office, so I thought we could check it out. We’ll already be in the area. You two will need to dress nicely today.” 

Noctis groaned. “Why do you have so much work stuff?” 

Regis was about to explain, but Prompto had noticed the unattended phone on his father’s nightstand. “Daddy! May I please take pictures? With phone?” 

“With THE phone? Don’t forget the ‘the’, my son.” The children giggled at the repetition. “Only a few, when I’m done I need to get you both ready.” 

Noctis got off of the bed and went to the closet as Prompto began photographing everything. He grabbed the knob and hung on it. “I’m gonna wear a tie just like you.” He lifted himself off of the ground and put his feet on the door, trying to open the closet. He could get the tie he wanted himself. 

“Noctis, don’t-“ 

Something clunked in the door, and the knob shifted. “Oops. Sorry.” He let go of the doorknob and moved away. 

“Noct okay? No boo boo?” Prompto looked him over, but couldn’t find anything wrong. He was glad his brother was alright, and then he returned to his photography. Regis tested the door. 

It worked fine. He hoped. 

Noctis moved to investigate his father’s dresser drawer. “What’s this?” He pulled a small box out from its spot next to some socks. 

“That is a ring box. It has my wedding ring from when I married your mother.” Regis allowed himself a second to think of his wife before composing himself. He had things to do today, he had to be strong. There would be time to reminisce later. 

“Can I try on your ring?” Noctis pulled it out as he asked, already sliding it onto his finger. It was too big, much too big for the young boy. “I don’t like it. It’s too heavy.” 

“That’s because it doesn’t fit you. It’s too much for you to bear now, marriage is a huge responsibility. When you’re older you will wear this ring with pride. For right now, please put it back.” Regis gently removed the ring from his son’s finger. He put it back into the box, running his thumb over the ‘Lucii’ on the label. His son was too young for all the ring represented. He’d explain another day. 

Prompto scooted off of the bed and walked to Regis. He tugged on his Daddy’s pants leg. “Here. Phone. Thank you.” 

“What’s this? You’re willingly giving me the phone? Oh. That’s why.” The screen said that the storage was full, and because the pop-up was there Prompto couldn’t take pictures. The phone was obsolete now. “Let’s see how many you took just now... one hundred and forty two. Well, I’ll go through these later. Right now we have to finish getting ready.” 

-o-

Cor hid a smile as the Caelums got into the car. The boys had little clip on ties and nice dress clothes on. Their tiny shoes were shiny, and their hair had been brushed to perfection. 

“What’s so funny, Cor?” Regis buckled himself in, twisting in the seat to check one last time that he had properly buckled the boys. He had. Cor started driving. “Nothing’s funny, they just look so cute in nice clothes. Almost like miniature adults.” 

“Well, I can’t help that my sons are handsome.” 

As he said this, Prompto stuck his thumb in his mouth and Noctis started picking his own nose. “Daddy, can I have a tissue?” 

Cor chuckled. “Yes, they are handsome AND dignified.” 

“Can it, Cor, they’re three.” Regis pulled a small pack of tissues out of the glove compartment to pass one to Noctis. Pulling his phone out, he began deleting the blurry photos from his album. Cor noticed, and finally decided to comment. He usually saw his boss emptying the phone when he drove Regis to work. “Why do you let him use that if you’re just going to delete them?” 

“Why not? He has fun with it, and some of the pictures come out nice. There’s a lot of weird angles in most of them, but he’s learning.” 

They arrived at their first destination. 

“Daddy, why are we here?” Noctis craned his neck to see out the window. Regis got out of the car to unbuckle him, and as he undid the straps he answered. “I just need to sign a paper. The bank changed its policy regarding one of the accounts I use for my job. It’s not terribly urgent, but it needs to get done.” 

“That’s boring.” The child had no idea what all of that meant. 

“I know.” Regis and Noctis walked around the car to the trunk so they could get the baby carrier. Cor turned to talk to Prompto while the other two were occupied. “I like your tie. Do you know what color it is?” 

Prompto looked down to check. “Black. Daddy put tie on.” 

Regis opened the door, carrier strapped to his chest and Noctis holding his hand. “Alright, my son, out you come.” He transferred Prompto from the carseat to the baby carrier. The blond waved at the chauffeur. “Bye bye, Cor. Be good.” 

“Haha, I will. I’ll see you when you’re done in the bank.” Cor drove around to park the car as the Caelums entered the building. 

It was quiet even though there were people inside, the bank had a high ceiling and a polished marble floor. Their shoes squeaked as they made towards the counter. Regis stood behind the last person in the queue. Noctis poked what he could reach of Prompto when he stood on his tippytoes. The younger boy turned to see what was touching his ankle. “Noct? Why you grab my leg?” 

“‘Why DID you grab my leg’. Noctis, please don’t yank on his leg.” Regis stepped closer as the line moved up. 

“I didn’t. Why’s it so boring in here?” Noctis didn’t know why it had to be so serious in the bank. There was a lot of room to run around, but nobody was running. “Can I play?” 

“No, my son. We’re almost at the front of the line. Then I’ll speak to the teller, and we’ll be on our way.” Regis had to stop Prompto from playing with his beard. “Daddy, why your face have hair?” 

“It grows, I can’t stop it. I can only shave it when it gets too long.” Prompto rubbed his own chin. “I grow face hair?” 

“When you’re a bit older.” “Me too, Daddy?” “Yes, Noctis. You’ll probably have a beard like mine.” Both boys rubbed at their chins, and Prompto started playing with Regis’ beard again as they finally made it to the front of the line. “Noctis, stay here.”

The eldest tried to listen as his father spoke to the teller. He stood on tippytoes to try and peek at the paper she passed to Regis. He couldn’t see anything, except-

“Ooh! Lollipops! Can I have one, pleeeeaaassssse?!?” Regis took two of the discovered treats as the bank employee explained the form to him. He unwrapped them and passed each child a candy. 

Prompto licked it, his face scrunching up when his tongue decided it didn’t like it. “Here, Daddy.” He pressed the lollipop to Daddy’s lips, and because Regis wasn’t paying attention he accepted it. He didn’t even notice the teller’s pinched expression as he read the form. It wasn’t until after the paper was signed that he realized what had happened. Shaking his head, he extracted the gifted candy. “Prompto, please don’t do that.” 

Noctis pulled out his own lollipop. “Can we go? I don’t like it here even though they have candy.” 

“Alright, we’re done, we’re going.” Regis bid the teller a good day and turned to leave, lollipop still held in his hand. Prompto pointed at the candy bowl that Noctis had noticed. “Wait! Lolly!” 

“You had one and you didn’t like it.” Regis showed his son the rejected candy and kept walking. There was a trash bin beside the bank doors, he needed to put the unwanted candy in there. Prompto reached for the candy bowl. “Lolly! Cor! Cor needs lolly!” 

Noctis joined in. “Yeah, Cor needs a lollipop too, Daddy! Prompto is right!” 

Regis smiled as he turned back to grab a lollipop. “You really are too sweet.” He passed Prompto the candy to hold for Cor. 

-o-

The chauffeur had graciously accepted his present, glad that it wasn’t pre-tasted like Regis’ had been. The father regaled him with that tale after Prompto had given Cor the candy. 

They were now headed to Caelum Conglomerate for Regis’ meeting. Noctis danced in place as his father unbuckled Prompto. “I need the potty!” 

“Okay, okay, I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying!” 

“Faster! Faster- oh. Too late. I went in my pull-up. Sorry, Daddy.” Noctis shifted uncomfortably. “I need a new one.” Regis sighed. He should have had them use the bank’s bathroom before they left. Grabbing the diaper bag he kept stashed in the trunk, he hurried into the building with both boys in tow. 

They went to the restroom on the first floor. “Prompto, do you need the potty?” Regis changed Noctis, who said he didn’t need the toilet again. “Oh, wait, if Prompto is trying I want to try!” 

Prompto nodded. He needed it if Noctis was going to use it. 

Regis was wise to their game. They would do this at home. Ever since Prompto’s birthday he had started potty training just like Noctis. When one boy needed it then magically his brother would need it as well. He sat his oldest in one stall and took his youngest to the neighboring stall. 

“Noct? You done?” 

“Prompto, please finish up. You can speak to Noctis when you’re both done.” Regis glanced at his watch. Ooh, he was going to be late to his meeting. Suddenly, Noctis appeared from under the partition. “I finished.” 

“Noctis Lucis Caelum, you don’t crawl under the bathroom stall.” Regis shook his head. “Just wait in here then. Prompto, are you done?” He was just going to have to take him off, he obviously didn’t need to- 

Finally! He went. Just in time too, someone else was entering the bathroom and he didn’t want Noctis trying to peek under at the newcomer. They could hear whoever it was shuffling with his belt. “You done peeing?”

Oh em gee. 

“Prompto, you don’t ask that...” Regis helped him pull up his pants and took both of his sons to wash their hands. The mystery bathroom goer exited the stall. “I’m done now.” 

Regis apologized to his employee, who reassured him it was alright. “Hey, I got kids of my own, sir, so I completely understand. You have a good day.”

The Caelums went up to the conference room where the meeting was supposed to take place. Regis hoped the company president he was meeting wouldn’t be upset that he was late, and that he had brought his boys... He knocked on the door before entering. 

The room was empty? 

That wasn’t right, the company president for JM Market should have been in here. They were going to discuss how Regis’ company would back some of their mobile efforts. The small company needed the funding, so why wasn’t the president here?? 

Regis texted his secretary. 

“Daddy, why are we here?” Noctis let go of his father’s hand to climb on one of the chairs surrounding the table. Prompto wiggled until Regis put him down, and the blond clambered after Noctis. “Noct, why you sit on this chair?” There was room to climb up and sit next to his brother, but climbing was scary. Then he’d be high up, and he didn’t like that too much. 

“Hold on, my sons... Oh.” His phone started ringing, and his secretary explained to him that the president couldn’t make the meeting because she was a little preoccupied with giving birth. “That explains why there was no call to cancel... But how did you find out? Oh. Really?” He kept speaking on the phone as his sons played with the chairs. 

They went around the table, pushing the chairs in and counting. Prompto giggled as Noctis sat down in another chair. “I am the big boss. Daddy, isn’t that like being a king? Like in the storybooks?” 

“Why you king, Noct? I want to sit.” He plopped down on the floor in front of his brother’s seat. His tummy rumbled. “Hungry... May I please have food, Daddy?” 

“... So next Wednesday? Why couldn’t they send the vice president today?” 

“He didn’t hear you.” “Why?” “I don’t know.” Noctis hopped off the chair to ask Prompto’s question. Regis asked them to hold on one second. “Dustin, can you mark that down on my calendar? I have to go. Thank you. Bye. ...I’m sorry, we’re going now.” 

Prompto pointed to his stomach. “Why my stomach yell?” Regis corrected him as they left the conference room. 

-o-

The new restaurant was really upscale, even for one in the business district. It would certainly be nice to have smaller, more personal meetings over lunch here... 

But it probably wasn’t a good idea to bring the children. 

Regis knew his sons would be well behaved, but the maitre d’ eyed them as he greeted the family. There was a small flash of recognition when Regis gave his name, and the head waiter stopped glancing at the young boys disapprovingly. It wouldn’t do to offend one of the richest businessmen in Insomnia. 

Prompto, who was not in the baby carrier now (Regis didn’t know where he’d put it while they sat to eat), pointed at the head waiter’s tie. “Hey, I have black tie!” He held up his own tie to demonstrate. 

“Mm, yes, I see. If you will follow me, sir.” The maitre d’ led them to a table, signaling for one of the other waiters to grab booster seats. Noctis picked up his giant cloth napkin after he was seated. “It’s a blanket. I’m going to sleep.” He spread it on his legs. The snooty head waiter hadn’t heard his declaration, and was surprised that the little boy used the napkin correctly. He passed a menu to Regis. “My apologies, sir, but we do not have a children’s menu.” 

“That’s fine. They’ll have the... Sea’s Bounty Risotto. I’ll have the Darkshells Marienieres.” Regis knew the boys would eat that, Weskham had made such a dish before. The menu was taken and the man left to inform the chef of the choices. 

The boys looked around as the waiters moved from table to table. One of them stopped at the Caelums’ table with a pitcher of water. “Would you like straws for your sons, sir? It would be easier for them to use.” Regis thanked him, and the waiter zoomed off to the next table. 

One of the other patrons had a loud voice, and the family couldn’t help overhearing some of his loud voice. “I could eat a horse!” “Dear, please stop speaking so loudly. Look, there are children here and they’re quieter than you.” 

Noctis scrunched his face in thought. “Daddy, what’s a horse?” Prompto stopped sipping his water to listen. The straw had made the ice clink against his glass, and it was hard to focus with such a distracting, funny sound. 

“It’s another word for spiracorn, my son.” 

“Why didn’t he just say spiracorn, then?” Noctis huffed, irritated. “Where’s the food?” 

“Somebody’s getting grumpy. It will be here soon. You just need to be patient.” Regis didn’t blame him though. He was used to Weskham already having the meal ready before it was time to eat. 

Prompto picked up his spoons and fork. He left the bad bad knife laying there, he knew not to touch it. Utensils clutched awkwardly, he held them aloft. “Daddy? Why I have lots of eating stuff?” 

“Put them down, please. There are a lot of utensils because this one is a soup spoon, this spoon is for regular food, this one is a fork, and I’ll take the knife. Noctis, pass me your knife, please.” 

“Don’t touch knife, Noct! Daddy, knife is bad!” How could his father ask Noct to touch such a dangerous utensil? That would be breaking his own rule and what if Noct got hurt?? 

“Prompto, shh, it’s okay, please calm down. Noctis, you don’t have to touch the knife, I’ll get it.” Regis suddenly remembered the birthday cake fiasco. He was just sitting back down, both knives placed next to his own, when the food arrived. 

“Yay, food for my tummy! Look, Noct!” Prompto immediately began eating. “Finally. That took forever.” Noctis dug in as well. Regis thanked the waitress and ate his food. 

“Daddy, my food is yummy.” “Prom is right.” “Should we eat here again another time?” 

Regis nodded when they both said yes. He’d have to bring them back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um... hi. TimidMarshmallow here. May I please have some feedback? I’ve been really nervous to ask this for a couple of chapters now (I don’t want to seem ungrateful towards the readers who do comment cuz I love you guys!). It’s just... I kind of miss seeing what you guys think. And a reminder, please check out the drawing links I put in the top notes. They’re awesome, and having such gorgeous visuals enhances the story. (THANK YOU FOR THEM, *blows kiss*)
> 
> Okay. Phew. Thank you. Tune in next time, next week like always. Christmas preparations with the Caelums is coming.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who commented after I asked: THANK YOU. I was in a really weird critical mood, and I was putting my art and writing down. It's natural to feel unsure sometimes, and everyone needs reassuring now and again. I'm glad I reached out, because you helped me remember that the mood was just that: a mood. Human emotions are silly, huh?
> 
> BUT NOW I'M BACK, BABY! GET READY FOR THE FLUFF!!!

“Prompto! Give me that! It’s my turn!” Noctis tried to take the ornament, but Regis stopped him. 

“You just put the last one up. It’s not your turn yet. ...And we don’t snatch things, my son.” Regis lifted Prompto so he could put the shiny ornament on a higher branch. Noctis apologized for trying to snatch again. 

“Why do we have lots of these things?” Prompto watched as Noctis was lifted to put his ornament up. The blond’s speech was almost perfect now, and Regis was so proud. There were still a few words the boy had trouble with or didn’t know, but it was a huge improvement from when he had first arrived. “We use them to decorate the Christmas tree. It would look silly if we only put up one or two ornaments.”

“Why did we put up the tree?” Prompto didn’t know why Daddy suddenly got quiet. Had his son’s biological father not celebrated Christmas? “Daddy?” 

“Silly Prom, we have the tree so we can make the house look cool.” Noctis had ignored the shift in his father’s attitude, choosing to grab another bauble from the box of decorations. Regis nodded. “Yes, and we’ll put presents under it so you can open them on Christmas morning.” 

“Presents!?” Prompto’s eyes widened. It had been fun to rip the paper off of his birthday gifts, and now he’d get to do that again? He looked under the tree where they would go. But... nothing was there? “Where are they?” 

“They are not there yet. We have to wait ten more days.” Regis opened a step stool so he could put the star on the top of the tree. He was grateful that Weskham had helped him get it in the house this year. “Right now the presents are hidden. You two can wait just a little longer, right?”

Noctis had an idea. 

If the presents were hidden, then that meant he could find them... Right? It would be just like hide and seek. He glanced at Daddy to see if he was watching. Regis was getting off of the step stool so he could turn on the tree’s string of lights. He also turned off the ceiling light. 

The tree looked absolutely beautiful. Yeah, the bottom half was a bit overcrowded, but it had been decorated by the children. To Regis it looked perfect, and the boys were proud of their work. “Wow! I love it, haha!” Prompto stared at the twinkling lights and how they danced on the ornaments. “We did a good job this year, huh, Noctis? Prompto’s help made it look extra nice.” 

Noctis nodded dismissively, wonder fading from his eyes. He remembered he had a quest. “It is great, Daddy. Prompto, let’s go play!” He giggled maniacally as his brother followed. “Noct, why are you laughing?” 

The older boy ran to their room, stopping only to help his brother up after he tripped. “You okay?” 

“Y-yeah.” Tears welled, but Noctis yanked him towards the bedroom again. “Come on, come on!” Once inside he closed the door and pulled a blanket off of their bed. The chocobo doll fell to the floor, and Prompto picked it up as his brother suddenly tossed the blanket over him. Noctis crawled under to join his confused sibling. 

“Noct?” 

“Shh! I want to find our presents. Want to help me look?” He kept his voice low for this secret meeting. Daddy would probably check in on them, since Monica wasn’t here today. Prompto hugged his doll closer. “Noct? Where are they?” 

“I don’t know. But I want to find them.” Noctis stood up, and the blanket fluttered off of him. He pulled it off of his brother. “Let’s go.” 

Prompto took his doll with him as he chased after Noctis. The older boy started searching at random. His first choice was the bathroom. “You use the potty now?” 

“No, Prom, I’m looking for the gifts!” Did he forget already? Noctis opened the cabinet under the sink as he answered his brother’s question. He had been asking a lot of those as he learned to speak more. Noctis didn’t mind it, usually, but right now he was trying to focus. 

“Check the tub.” Noctis watched as his brother obeyed. “Noct? The tub is empty.” Hmm. Alright, time to check a new room. They ran past their father as they exited the bathroom. “Where are you two headed in such a hurry?” 

Prompto started to answer, but Noctis cut him off. “Pre-“ “Shh! It’s a secret, Daddy!” The older brother grabbed his sibling’s hand and pulled him away. “No telling!” 

“Okay? ...Why not?” 

Regis watched the retreating children, and he smiled. The only secret mission they could possibly be on was a hunt. Well, they wouldn’t find anything as long as they stayed out of his room. He called them back. “Wait, my sons, let’s go see if Weskham has made any gingerbread yet.” 

Noctis considered it as Prompto asked what ‘gin bread’ was. “Gingerbread is really yummy, Prom.” Would halting the search be worth the treat??? He supposed it would be. They had the rest of the afternoon to check the house. 

The Caelums entered the warm kitchen, and Prompto sniffed the air. “Smells good! What is that??” Weskham turned around when he heard that. “Oh, welcome lads. Do you want to help me shape the rest of these cookies?” 

The counter was covered in dough and cookie cutters and flour and it was all so exciting because Christmas cookies were the best!!! Noctis was glad he had chosen to come help. Regis dragged two chairs over for his sons to stand on. Prompto held onto the back after he was lifted onto one. “I won’t let you fall off.” Regis put a steadying hand on his baby boy’s back. “Here, let’s put your chocobo down so you can help. We don’t want it to get covered in flour.”

Noctis immediately grabbed some dough and started playing with it. “Can we eat it now?” 

“Hmm, technically you could, but I guarantee you won’t like the taste of it raw.” Weskham handed him a cookie cutter and helped him flatten the dough to use it. “What shape is that?” 

The chef nodded when the boy guessed correctly. “Stars are up in the sky.” Noctis pushed the shape down, and next to him Prompto was using a tree shape with Regis. “Daddy? Why is this gin bread brown?” 

“This ginGERbread is brown because it’s a cookie, and it will get a little lighter after it’s baked.” Regis handed him a different shape and peeked at Noctis’ handiwork. “Very good! I like the stars you made.” The older son laughed. “I’m making lots of cookies!” 

Prompto poked his father. “Daddy, I need to pee.” Regis lifted him so they could hurry to the bathroom. They were gone for a good minute before Noctis realized. “Hey? Wes, where’d they go?” 

“Probably to the bathroom.” 

“Oh no, Prompto left his chocobo here.” Noctis was about to pick it up, but Weskham stopped his dirty hands. “How about we wash you up, and then you can take it to him.” 

Clean again, he grabbed the stuffed toy and ran out of the room. 

-o-

“And you rub rub rub... Now rinse, and turn off the water. Let’s dry with the towel. There.” 

“All clean!!” Prompto giggled. “I will tell Noct I peed potty?” 

“Yes, you can tell him when we go back.” Regis gestured for the boy to lead the way to the kitchen. They were in the hall when they heard laughter, and Prompto changed direction to find the source. “Noct?” 

They found him in Regis’ room. “Oh no...” He was supposed to be in the kitchen with Weskham, what was he doing over here!??

“Noct? What are you doing??” Prompto moved closer, and Noctis held up one of the presents he had found under Regis’ bed. It was partially unwrapped already. 

“Look! It’s another chocobo like yours but it has a red hat and bow! Daddy, is this mine!?” Noctis held it up hopefully, moving it away when Prompto tried to touch it. “Wait, Prom, your chocobo is there!” He pointed to the discarded doll, delivery abandoned. “Noct, may I please-“

Regis cut in. He should have stopped the hunt as soon as he suspected it, then this wouldn’t have happened. “Noctis, you are not supposed to find the presents before Christmas. That chocobo doll is for Prompto. You have other presents, which you will wait for.” 

“Oh.” Noctis handed the new chocobo over, and Prompto held it on one arm and picked up his old one with the other arm. He hugged them both close. “Thank you!! My chocobos are soft! Noct, here, feel.” 

Accepting the doll, Noctis held his brother’s new toy. He had really wanted to find one of his own gifts. He shoved it away, pouting. “Here. Take it back.” 

“...Noct? Why are you mad?” Prompto dropped both chocobos. His brother was more important than his toys. “D-don’t be ma-ad.” 

“I’m not mad. Hmph. I just want it to be Christmas already.” Noctis folded his arms with difficulty, Prompto had latched onto him. “Stop, your hair is tickling me and I don’t want to laugh right now.” 

“Noctis. will being upset make time pass faster?” Regis picked up the wrapping paper from the discovered doll and put it in the small wastebasket he kept in his room. Noctis grumbled into Prompto’s head, finally hugging back, and the blond just squeezed tighter. “If you have fun then you won’t notice time passing. That’s why the saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ exists. But if you are angry, then you can’t have fun and make time fly.” 

“Time can fly?” How did that work? What did time even look like? “Daddy, I want to make time fly. How do I do it?” 

Prompto saw that Noctis wasn’t mad anymore, so he let go. He turned to listen to what Regis would say. Their father knelt and whispered for them to come closer. “No, closer. Come on, closer than that. Keep coming, keep-“ 

He grabbed them both, pulling the surprised children into a bear hug. 

“Rawrgh, haha! I’ve got you now!! Hahahahahaha!” “AAAaaAAA!!” “DAAAAADDDDYYY!!” 

Regis tickled their sides as they squirmed and giggled, hoping he could rile them up enough to forget about the gifts under his bed. He needed a new hiding spot. Maybe the closet? 

Finally letting go, he let them catch their breath. “Ready to go see it the gingerbread is done?” 

“Yeah!” Noctis zoomed off, and Prompto hurried to grab both of his chocobos to follow. They were smooshed against the little boy as he ran. “Wait, Noct!”

-o-

Regis and Monica had to be extra creative with entertaining the children while Christmas sloooooowwwwwly approached. As the days passed they taught Prompto more and more about the holiday, and he couldn’t wait! His excitement and Noctis’ excitement were overwhelming, and infectious. Regis, Weskham, Monica, and even Cor grew impatient. Why did each of the last few days feel like an entire week?! 

Even with all of the distractions to entertain them, Prompto would still check under the tree. Noctis would look under Regis’ bed, even though he was told not to. It was simply for the principle, Regis had moved the gifts into his office. The boys didn’t play in there. No more presents were accidentally unwrapped. (Thankfully. It wouldn’t do to have no surprises left on the day they were all hyped up for.)

Prompto still carried both chocobos around the house, occasionally forgetting one somewhere. When he realized he would immediately ask to go search for it. Noctis had hidden one of them on Christmas Eve, saying that he could get his gift again tomorrow. He had given back right away though, Prompto had been really upset that he couldn’t find his ‘Bow Chocobo’. 

And now it was time for the hardest part of the entire year: getting two excited little boys to go to sleep before Christmas. 

Noctis grabbed their stockings off of their hanging spot outside the bedroom door. “Tomorrow these will have stuff in them, Prompto!!!” He threw them on the bed to dance around as Regis brushed his brother’s hair. The decorative socks landed next to the blond, and he reached over to put them on his feet. 

“Look, I have Christmas feet!” Prompto kicked his legs, and they bounced on the bed. Regis chuckled. “Take those off, if they’re not in their spot I can’t fill them with presents~” 

“Ah! Prompto, give me that!” He went to rip the stockings off of his brother’s feet. He returned them to where they were supposed to be as Prompto grabbed his chocobos from the bed. Regis had finished with his hair. “Daddy, I’m not sleepy.” 

“I know, but it is bedtime. I even let you stay up a bit later because you’re both so excited.” It was an hour after their usual time, but that did nothing to dampen their energy. “Lay down, we’ll get nice and comfy with-“ 

“The coeurl blanket!”

“Okay, Noctis, the coeurl blanket, and then we’ll read a good story.” 

“Daddy?” The little boy sat up. 

“Yes, Prompto?” 

“Can we have more gingerbread?”

“Tomorrow. Once upon a time...” It took three books for the boys to finally start nodding asleep. 

-o-

Prompto pulled on Noctis’ sleeve. “Wake up!” 

As the older boy woke he remembered what day it was. Flying up, he threw off the blanket and climbed off the bed. “Let’s go get Daddy!” 

Prompto shot after him, and they catapulted onto their father’s slumbering form. “Merry Christmas!” “Wake up! Wake up!” 

“Uuuggghhh... Merry Christmas, my sons. Let’s brush our teeth and then we can open the presents.” 

Finally, finally, the presents were under the tree. 

Prompto gasped, and Noctis ran to pick one up. “Is this mine? Or is this Prompto’s?” Regis read the label to him, and Prompto picked up a different one as they did so. “May I please open it?” 

“Hold on, yeah, that one’s yours.” 

The pile of toys, clothes, and books sat to the side as each new box was robbed of its paper. Noctis had gotten a tonberry plush, it was supposed to match Prompto’s chocobo. The little boy retrieved Bow Chocobo and they sat with their dolls to eat breakfast. 

The hot chocolate and pancakes were the perfect start to the rest of their Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bow Chocobo looks like this:  
> https://img.finalfantasyxiv.com/t/f17cec12d1aa73e7b35d0ef20d80ee131bf23554_5.png?1513324491


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! This a day later than I wanted, but I felt it was missing something... I think I fixed it though! 
> 
> I tried to capture that feeling of staying warm despite the cold outside. Enjoy, and hopefully you are comfortable wherever you are!

“Stay still, you need the scarf. It’s cold out.” 

Prompto whined a bit, he could barely move with all the winter gear he was wrapped in. Noctis poked his brother’s coat with a gloved hand. “Is he all done? I want to go in the snow already!” 

“You need to be patient, dear. You were all dressed first, now it’s Prompto’s turn.” Monica buttoned the top of the coat up, and then moved to dress herself for the snow. 

The family hadn’t stayed up for the New Year, Regis saw no sense in the three year olds losing sleep. A week into the fresh calendar, all of Insomnia was blanketed in delicate white. The nanny was going to take them out to play in it now that Regis was back at work. 

Noctis tried to bend down to get a snowball. He barely made it, his coat and snowpants made simple movements difficult. When he finally gathered a handful he threw it at his brother. The snowball splattered on the ground pathetically. “Hmm. You try, Prom.” 

Prompto couldn’t bend down. He was layered for warmth, not mobility. “I c-caaaaannn’ttt!”

Monica handed him a snowball. “Here, you don’t need to cry. Use your words and ask for help.” 

He sniffled. “O-okay. Thank you for the snow.” He dropped it before he could even throw it. He tried to get more, but he still couldn’t reach. The nanny decided it was time to move to a new game before they both got frustrated. “Would you like to make snow angels?” 

Prompto stopped struggling to bend over. He watched as Noctis and Monica flopped back into the white. “Why’d you fall down!? Are you okay!?” 

“Haha, yes, look!” Noctis wiggled his arms and then asked for Monica to help him stand back up. He waddled over to his younger sibling and pushed gently on the front of his coat. “Lay down, the snow is soft.” 

Prompto couldn’t sit, and he was scared to just fall back. “I can’t lay down. My coat is holding me.” 

Monica eased him down, and then picked him back up after he wiggled his arms a bit. She showed him his little snow angel. “Ooh, your cheeks are getting pink... Time to go in.” 

“Aww, but I wanted to play more!” Noctis tried to grab another snowball. 

“But if we go I then we can have hot chocolate~” 

That changed the eldest boy’s tune. They headed inside, and Prompto was already begging for marshmallows. Noctis kicked off his snow boots as Monica freed the blond. “Did you boys have fun in the snow?” The nanny knew it wasn’t a long playtime, but it was more important that they stayed warm and dry. Noctis claimed he had fun as Prompto asked for marshmallows again. And again. 

“I won’t forget them, hold on... There. No more snow pants.”

They headed to the kitchen for the desired treats. The boys held the mugs, letting the ceramic warm their chilly fingers. Monica helped them slowly sip, careful not to spill any of the chocolate on their clothes. “What do you want to play after we wash up?” 

Two cocoa-mustachioed children answered. “Can we play with chocobos?” “I want to make a pillow fort!” 

The nanny nodded. Prompto had to be convinced to leave the dolls before they had gotten ready to go out. He was probably eager to reunite. Noctis’ suggestion to build a fort would help them warm up even more. “Alright, we can play that. Finish up, and then we can go build one.” 

She wiped off their faces, and Prompto giggled. “Noct, you looked like Daddy.” 

“Cool! I can’t wait to grow and look like Daddy more. Paw Paw Cid always says I’m just like him.” The eldest puffed out his chest. 

Heading into the living room after retrieving the plushies, they set to work. It was a little wobbly at first. Monica added another pillow for support, hoping it would hold the blanket up. Upon completion, Prompto peeked out of their fort as Noctis lay down. “I’m pretending it’s nighttime so go to sleep, Prom.” 

Prompto crawled over and lay down. He fake snored before popping back up. “Good morning!” 

“Yeah, let’s go to the store.” Noctis sat up and left the blanket fort that was now their house. “I’m going to buy some food.” 

“I’m going to buy some food too! And my chocobos.” Prompto held up the first chocobo he had been given. “Kweh kweh!” 

“Monica, do you want some food from the store?” Noctis ran off to grab his play food from his room. Regis had bought him some plastic vegetables in an attempt to get him used to the idea of eating them. It didn’t really work. He ran back, dumping the armload of toys onto the living room floor. Prompto picked up a plastic tomato and walked to over to the nanny. 

“Is this for me to eat? Thank you.” Monica pretended to eat it before handing it back. Prompto grabbed some more food for her, trying to balance all of it while holding his doll. He then stood there until she had ‘eaten’ it all. He carried it back to the blanket fort that was their house. “Noct! I have dinner.” 

“What are we cooking today? Ew, ew, and ew. I don’t want to cook with this food. This is all yucky vegetables.” Noctis pushed the pile away. “I want fries.” 

“Fries are made with potatoes. Look, you have a toy potato right here. You can make fries.” Monica held up the potato, and Prompto took it. “Chocobo eat it. Uh oh, hahahahaha!” 

“Hey, I was going to use that potato, Chocobo! Go into time out.” Noctis plucked the doll from his brother’s hands and put it on the sofa. Prompto just grabbed Bow Chocobo from where the toy had been patiently watching. “Uh oh, Noct! The other food is going to be all gone!” 

Noctis leapt between the doll and the play food. “Stop! You can’t eat it yet, I have to cook it and then you can eat it.” Prompto nodded. “Wait your turn. Wait, wait, wait...” 

Noctis picked all the toy food and put it in the blanket fort. He yawned. It was after lunch, and he decided he wanted an afternoon nap today. “I want to sleep for real now.” 

Prompto grabbed a pillow from the fort, and everything collapsed. “Oops. Here, Noct.” The blond lay down on Bow Chocobo and closed his eyes as Noctis climbed onto the sofa. “Night night.” 

Monica lifted the boy on the floor and put him next to his sibling. She covered them with a blanket. She spoke softly and rubbed their backs. “You two can nap for a little bit, and then Regis will come home, and then it’s dinnertime, and then bath, and then finally bedtime...” 

She cleaned up their game after they were fast asleep. 

-o-

“Look, my sons. It’s snowing again.” Regis moved the curtain aside, he had grown curious about the weather as he readied his children for bed. “It was snowing before when I was coming home from work.” 

Noctis climbed onto the toy chest to look outside, and Prompto just stood on his tiptoes. He didn’t like climbing because then he’d be high up. Daddy always asked Noctis to get down anyway. 

Sure enough, Noctis was shooed off of the toy chest and back into bed. “It’s a quiet winter night. Maybe Carbuncle will stop by to escape the cold.” He wove a tale with the dream guardian, his sons fascinated by the possibility of a magical fennec fox. 

“Can Carbuncle really visit dreams, Daddy?” 

“All the tales say so, Noctis. Who knows, maybe he’ll stop by one night.” Regis pulled the blanket up to their chins and kissed their heads. Prompto held up his chocobo, it needed a kiss too. “Carbuncle can come to my dreams. Then we can have fun.” 

“Yes, so let’s get you two to dreamland now.” The father opened the storybook he had chosen for tonight. Once his precious babies were asleep he went to ready himself for bed. 

==========================

Noctis turned in the middle of the night, and he smacked Prompto in the face as his arm swung out. His hand landed on his brother’s nose, and the new weight woke the smaller boy. 

When Prompto realized it was Noctis’ hand he sat up. Was Noct trying to play now? “It is sleepy time.” 

Noctis snored on. 

Prompto looked at the moonlight barging in from the window. Regis hadn’t closed the curtain again after he had checked, and so Prompto could see large flakes dropping in the night. He pulled the blanket, trying to cover himself again. All the movement knocked his beloved doll to the floor. 

“Oh no!” He crawled over and slowly lowered himself off of the bed. Using the nightlight and the moon, he looked for the doll. Had it gone under the bed? He pushed aside the puddle of blanket, not realizing that he had knocked it on top of the chocobo. 

There was something underneath the bed, but Prompto couldn’t tell what it was. He pulled it out and moved closer to the nightlight so he could see. It was a box, and so he lifted the lid. 

Rocks? 

Had Noctis collected all of these? Wait, were these the crystals he always picked up when they were outside? Prompto had seen Daddy drop a couple of these right after Noctis asked him to hold it in his pocket. By the time they got home Noctis had forgotten about them. 

Maybe the doll had been put away? Or what if Noct had hidden it again? Prompto went to the toy chest and opened it. He grabbed each toy out, and dropped it on the floor upon inspection. It was tough to make out the shape in the low lighting, but he knew what he was looking for. Hmm, tonberry doll, no, coeurl, no no, plush flan, no no no... He reached the bottom of the toy chest after rejecting a few more toys. No chocobo. 

Prompto closed the lid and went back to the bed. “Noct? Where is Chocobo?” He crawled over and poked his brother’s face. “Noct!” 

“Hmfgrnm... Wha? Prom??” 

“I can’t find Chocobo.” 

Noctis felt around, and then held up Bow Chocobo. “Here. Goodni-“ 

“Noct, I can’t find Chocobo! This is Bow Chocobo. I need Chocobo.” 

Noctis sat up. He wasn’t getting back to sleep. “I don’t know where it is. Let’s ask Daddy.” Their father knew everything, so surely he could help. They went to leave the room when Prompto stopped. There was no light in the hall. The nightlight only lit up their room. 

Noctis grabbed his hand and marched forward, the moonlight was enough for him to see. “Come on, Prom.” 

“Noct, it’s more dark. I’m scared.” He squeezed his brother’s hand as he tried his hardest not to just cover his eyes and stay still. He settled for sucking his thumb. 

“It’s not so bad because I can see. I can fight too so no monsters will hurt us. ...Daddy says there are no monsters but I could still fight one.” Noctis pushed on his father’s door and led his sibling inside. “Daddy. Hey. Daddy, Prompto can’t find his chocobo. Psst. Daddy.”

Regis woke up. What were his children doing out of bed at this hour? It was too late, and he was too tired. He barely registered the request for a search party. “Go back to sleep...” 

Prompto thought of how afraid his doll must be, lost and alone in the dark. He took his thumb out of his mouth and asked again. “Daddy, I can’t find it. Noct can’t find it. Please help. Please?” 

Regis was being torn apart. Help his son or stay in the warm, comfortable bed... The bed was winning despite the tears he knew were forming. He was just so tired, and...

Noctis poked Regis’ face. “Daddy, we need help. Wake up.” 

Regis groaned. He moved over on the bed and patted the now empty spot. “Come up here, we’ll look for Chocobo in the morning.” His tired mind determined that though Prompto needed both dolls at all times, he could survive one night without either. 

Noctis climbed right up. Prompto asked one last time. “Chocobo?” 

“In the morning, my son. Come up into the bed.” Regis waited for Prompto to scramble up. “Here, come on this side.” 

Prompto crawled up over his father, and lay against his side. Noctis copied the pose, and Regis pulled the blanket up. All three settled, tucked cozily in a pocket of warmth. 

The snow outside kept falling. 

Everything seemed quieter at this time of night. Noctis and Regis fell back asleep quickly. Prompto listened to their breathing as he tried to join them. Yeah, there was no nightlight in this room, but his family was here. The dark didn’t seem so bad now. 

==========================

Prompto and Noctis held Regis to his promise of a morning search party. 

“Okay, okay, when we get up. Just... a couple more minutes.” 

“I need to pee, Daddy.” Noctis started towards the bathroom, and of course that meant Prompto needed it too. 

Regis reluctantly got out of bed.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I saw a kid in overalls and was inspired XD

“I know it will be a hassle to take him to the bathroom in this, but it’s just so cute. Remember when Noctis wore these?” Regis picked up his youngest son and held him out towards his nanny, showing off the denim overalls that Prompto was wearing. Even though he had bought his baby his own clothes, Regis still put Prompto in some of Noctis’ hand-me-downs. 

Monica nodded. “Yes, it’s been quite some time. I had almost forgotten about these. I’ll just have to get them to the bathroom sooner.” She smiled at how Prompto giggled when Regis put him back down. “Again, again, Daddy! May I please fly again?” 

“One more time and then that’s it, my son. Ready? Up you go!” He lifted Prompto quickly, and then slowly dropped him back down. “Wheeeeee! Hahaha, thank you!” 

Noctis piped up from where he had been playing on the floor. “Those overalls used to be mine but now Daddy says they fit Prompto. I think he looks good in them just like I did.” 

“Yes, he does.” Regis bent down to kiss both of their heads. “I just have a meeting at work today, and then I’ll come home early.” 

“YAY! What are we gonna play when you come back?” Noctis clapped, he loved when his father could get out of working and stay with him instead. Regis waggled his finger. “It’s a surprise.” 

Prompto gasped. Surprises usually meant candy or presents. “What is it!?” 

“I can’t tell you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise! You’ll see when I get home.” Regis made for the door. “I have to go now, so be extra good for Monica, okay?” 

The nanny waved him off. “They are always good. Go on, say goodbye to your father.” 

“Bye!” “Bye bye, Daddy!” 

The door closed, and the excited children returned to the game they had been playing before Monica arrived. The had the tonberry doll out, and the toy was in the middle of a ‘haircut’. Noctis had his fingers acting as the scissors, and he snipped some more imaginary hair off. 

Prompto sat next to him with a toy car. He pushed it away, and then crawled to get it back when it stopped rolling. He swooshed it again and again, and he accidentally sent it speeding towards Noctis’ leg. “Noct, watch out!” 

It bounced off of Noctis and rolled backwards slowly. “Blegh! You got me! I’m defeated!” He flopped over onto the floor. “Tonberry, help!” 

The doll sat there, unconcerned. 

“You’re okay, right, Noct?” Prompto looked down at his brother, he had moved to stand over him. The ‘vanquished’ child peered up at the concerned one. “I’m okay. Can we switch toys?” 

“Yeah! You can play with the car! Here!” Prompto retrieved the vehicle and handed it over. He sat down with the tonberry doll. “Doink doink, doink!” Daddy had said that tonberries made that noise sometimes. It must be true, because their father knew everything. 

Noctis whipped the car forward, trying to make it drive faster. It sped towards the wall and crashed. Perfect! He did it again. Monica interjected from where she had been watching. “The car will break if you slam it into the wall like that.” 

“Oh. Okay.” Noctis rolled it a bit softer, and it hit Prompto. “Hey, now you got me, Noct!” He rolled the car back to his brother, and then they stayed passing the car back and forth. They missed a few times, and when the car went off course they would run to get it. 

Prompto picked up the car and handed it to Noctis. He went over to Monica. “I need to pee.” 

“Right, let’s go!” She followed him as he ran to the bathroom, Noctis not far behind. “Me next! I need it too!” 

Prompto couldn’t open the overalls. “I’m holding my pee! Help!” Monica unhooked the straps and yanked the entire denim onepiece down. He made it on in time. “Good job, Prompto!” 

Noctis clapped as they washed hands, and he took his turn. Prompto tugged at the strap over his shirt that Monica had fixed. “Why is this hard to open?” 

“Some children take their clothes off during the day. I had a cousin who would always run around without pants, so his mommy bought him overalls. I mentioned it to your father, and he bought Noctis this pair because he thought they looked cute.” 

“Yeah, I like the pockets on it. I think I could open it!” Noctis, hands now clean, grabbed at Prompto to demonstrate his ability to open the overalls. He unhooked one of the straps. “You just have to push.” 

Prompto tried to fix the strap, and managed to get it hooked again. “I did it!” 

“Very good. Now, please leave your clothes alone. Let’s go back and play until lunch.” 

-o-

“You have to stay still when you’re hiding. And quiet.” Noctis shushed his brother as they hid from Monica. They heard her shout that the ten seconds were up. Prompto put his thumb in his mouth and idly played with the overall hook as they waited to be found. 

Noctis shushed him again, the tiny piece of metal was clinking against the button and Monica would hear it. 

The nanny yanked the curtain in the living room away. “Found you!” 

“Aw, how!? We were trying really hard!” Noctis pouted. 

“Your feet were showing. Prompto, thumb out.” As he obeyed, the nanny kept talking. “It’s also easy to find you when you’re both in the same spot. Here, I’ll give you extra time. I’ll count to thirty.” Monica counted again as they ran off to hide somewhere else. Hmm... They needed to hide in different spots? Noctis considered this as Prompto followed him. 

“Go hide over there!” He pointed at their room as he headed towards the bathroom. Prompto shook his head. “I want to hide with you, Noct!” 

“But then Monica will find us!” Then they’d lose, again. Noct didn’t want that to happen. 

“But-“ 

Noctis grabbed his hand. “Here, you hide here.” He let go when Prompto was covered with one of the blankets from their bed. Noctis turned to leave, but he stopped when he realized Prompto had gotten up to follow him. “No, hide here!” 

Prompto went to follow him again. “Noct-“ 

Noctis huffed. He needed his brother to stay put. His mind raced as he tried to figure out how to keep Prompto in one spot. He had an idea when he looked at his brother’s overalls. “Prompto, come here.”

“Okay, Noct!” The blond happily approached, glad that Noct was going to let them hide together again. He loved playing with his amazing big brother!! He was having so much fun, and then when Daddy got home they’d get a cool surprise! Today was going to be a good good day!

Noctis unhooked one of Prompto’s overall straps and wrapped it once around the leg of their bed. He closed it. The other strap shifted because the overall was now being pulled in an odd direction. Prompto adjusted it, unsure of what Noctis was doing. Was this part of the game? How would he hide like this? 

Apparently big brother had a two step plan, because Noctis put the blanket over Prompto again. “Okay, Monica won’t find you here. My turn.” He ran off, giggling. 

Prompto peeked out of the blanket to see if Noct had grabbed a different one to hide under. He whispered, remembering he needed to be quiet. “Noct? Where are you?” When he received no answer he took his blanket off. He went to step forward, intending to look for Noctis. 

He didn’t get far. 

Prompto tried again, but the strap held and he couldn’t get more than one step away from the bed. “Hey...” Prompto tried to open the strap. 

He couldn’t get it. 

He was going to yell for help, but Noct had told him to be quiet so they wouldn’t lose again. He whispered again, panic creeping in. “Noct! The bed is holding me! Help!” 

Prompto was about to start crying when he remembered Monica’s story about her cousin. He wiggled out of the strap that was still properly hooked and then pushed the overalls down. Stepping out of them, he fixed his shirt. It had gotten all crumply on him as he freed himself. 

Pantsless, in just his shirt and pull-up, Prompto went to search for his brother. It became clear that Noctis wasn’t in the bedroom. He was heading out when he heard Monica coming. He ducked back under the blanket and waited for her to pass. When the hall was silent again he tiptoed out. 

Noctis had been heading towards the bathroom when he had told him to hide in the bedroom. So maybe Noct was there! Prompto went in to look. “Noct?” 

The shower curtain moved, and Noctis bust out laughing when he saw Prompto. “Why are you naked a little bit?” 

Prompto pouted. “The bed was holding me and I couldn’t find you. Mean bed.” Noctis realized that hey! If his brother was here then he had escaped and now Monica was going to find them! “Hide!” 

Prompto clambered into the tub, happy he got to hide with Noctis despite the initial delay. 

Monica found them two minutes later. 

-o-

Regis came home to find Noctis in time out and Prompto in regular pants. “What’s going on?” 

“Oh, we just had a discussion about how we don’t trap our brother in one spot so we can win at hide and seek.” Monica detailed how she had found the overalls hooked to the bedpost after locating the boys. Prompto had started shivering because of his bare legs sitting on the cold porcelain of the tub, however, Monica chose different pants for him to wear. 

Noctis had already apologized, and promised not to do it again. 

“Is Noct done with time out?” Prompto had sat down even though Monica had said he wasn’t in trouble. Regis looked to the nanny to ask how long his son had been sitting, but she was already sighing. “Yes, it’s been five minutes.”

Noctis leapt up. He hugged Prompto once more with a rushed ‘sorry’ before bombarding his father. “What’s the surprise!?” 

“Well, Valentine’s Day is this week, so I thought we could make some chocolates to give to your friends.” Luna, Ravus, and Cindy would be so surprised! Regis had already bought a mold kit and hidden it in his office. Not even Weskham knew about this planned kitchen endeavor. 

Prompto clapped, bouncing excitedly. “I want to make chocolate! Haha, choco-late, Choco-bo!! Choco choco choco~” 

“Yes, they are similar, aren’t they? But don’t bring your toys into the kitchen, we don’t want to get them dirty. Come wash your hands so we can start.” 

Monica went home, Regis was going to spend the rest of the day with them. He made a mental note to raise her pay. He really was grateful that she was always kind to his children even when disciplining unwanted behaviors. Sylva had told him that she had gone through several nannies with Ravus. Apparently not everyone was suited for childcare. Even the Fleurets’ current nanny was a bit overbearing. 

Abandoning that train of thought for now, Regis grabbed the mold kit from his office. Prompto and Noctis were sent ahead to the kitchen, and poor Weskham was suddenly handling five thousand requests for chocolate. “Hold on, lads, slow down! What are you talking about?” 

“Daddy said we were going to-“ “We get to make chocolate!” “-and he said wait here-“ “And then we get to EAT IT!” “-and me and Noct and Daddy get to-“ “PLEASE, WESKHAM!?”

Regis finally entered with his surprise, and Weskham fixed him with a look. “Sorry, I should have warned you. Boys, please stop crowding Wes.” 

They chose to crowd him instead. “Can I open that?” “Daddy, is the chocolate ready?” 

“Not yet, not yet. We have to melt it first, and then-“ 

Weskham held up a hand. “Oh no. Hand that kit over. The last time you felt like cooking I had to get a whole new blender.” Regis chuckled at what his chef was referring to. When Noctis was younger, Clarus had told Regis about this stew with marlboro in it. The businessman had the bright idea of trying his hand at the culinary arts to surprise his friend. Clarus was surprised, for sure... surprised that the stew hadn’t come alive and killed Regis. Weskham had ended up with a busted blender, the marlboro tentacles were too thick for the appliance to properly cut. “That was one time, Weskham.” 

“One time too many.” The chef gathered the ingredients to make the chocolate. Regis had bought the mold kit... but forgotten the actual chocolates to melt. The boys watched with wonder as the individual components magically transformed into the desired result. When it was time to pour the mixture into the molds, Regis urged them to hold the plastic very still. 

“Why is it all gloopy?” Prompto remembered chocolate as being a bit firmer than this... 

Noctis laughed. “Gloopy sounds like poopy!” That set the two of them giggling, and Prompto repeated the hilarious combo. “Gloopypoopy chocobo chocolate!” 

“It will firm up after some time in the fridge. What do we say to Weskham?” 

“Thank you!” Both boys were even more delighted when the chef let them lick the residual chocolate off of the spoons he had used. 

After they were washed up, they asked if the molds were ready. “No my sons. It will take some time.” Five minutes later, he found himself reassuring them that he would let them know when it was done. And then five minutes after that...

It seemed the game they were playing now wasn’t distracting enough. “Let’s clean up your toys and draw.” Before long, all three Caelums were on the floor, paper and crayons at the ready. 

“Daddy, what are you drawing?” Prompto looked up from his black scribble that was supposed to be Noctis’ hair. Regis moved his hand so they could see, and his eldest son laughed. “Is that a flower?” 

“No, it’s supposed to be a flan monster...” 

“You said there are no monsters!” Noctis crossed his arms and waited for an explanation as Prompto nervously glanced around. Hopefully there really weren’t any, that would be too scary!

Regis sat up to explain. “When I was younger, I travelled all over Lucis. I saw many creatures, animals and monsters. There were so many different kinds! But they don’t live here in the city with us. When I came home to Insomnia, I was glad that the city was, and still is, monster free. That means my babies are safe.” 

“Oh. So the monsters live far away?” 

“Yes, Noctis, and they don’t come to the city.” Regis gestured for them to come sit in his lap. “Prompto, you’ll like this story. One time I visited a chocobo post, and near there was a behemoth! But it’s okay, the big beast left the birds alone because there’s a big lake nearby, so it would eat the fish from the lake. Anyway, the chocobos...” 

The tales from Daddy’s past made them forget all about the chocolate.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *peeks in* uh... sorry this is late... and short... Crazy week, and I’m glad a new one is coming. Feel like this March chapter is weak as a result, but I have a pretty good idea for April. Mwuahahaha... *ahem* It’ll be cute, okay?

Noctis actually woke up first this morning. 

“Prompto. Hey, wake up. Psst.” 

The blond fidgeted and latched onto his brother, eyes still closed. “Prompto, wake up.” His eyes blearily opened. “Noct?” 

“Come on, we’re going to the store today. Daddy said we were going to get a new tv!” The one they currently had wasn’t working anymore, the picture would cut in and out and the colors changed sometimes without warning. Regis had looked at the wires, and he couldn’t find anything wrong...

Noctis crawled out of the blankets to get down from the bed. Prompto yawned and sat up to follow. “Noct, where do they have the tv’s in the store?” 

Last time they had gone to the grocery store with Monica they hadn’t seen any televisions, so which store were they going to? 

“I don’t know where they are. Maybe the store hides them?” Noctis couldn’t remember seeing any televisions either. Oh well, they’d find them today. 

It was time to head to Regis’ room. Prompto dropped Bow Chocobo on the way, and asked Noct to ‘wait up’ so he could retrieve it, shifting Chocobo to his other arm. The older boy just ran back and snatched the doll off of the floor. “Come on, we need to get Daddy up!” Prompto toddled behind Noctis, able to keep pace now that he wasn’t overloaded with toys. 

Regis was just sitting up when they pushed his door open. “Good morning.” 

“Morning, Daddy!” “Come on, get ready!” 

“Someone’s excited today. Ooh, alright, I’m up.” The father moved about the room, getting dressed before leading his sons to the bathroom. “Teeth brushing time.” 

Noctis bared his teeth and growled. “Grr, I’m a behemoth!” Prompto giggled and opened his mouth. “Aaaa. Look, my teeth are here.” He stuck out his tongue. “Bleh, an dis is mah ton.” 

Finishing up in the bathroom, they went back to their bedroom so Daddy could get them dressed. “Which shirts today? Let’s see...” He held out some choices from their dresser. The elder brother pointed to a black one, and Prompto wanted to match. Regis handed the shirts over, and talked them through putting them on. He wanted his sons to start practicing dressing and undressing. 

When the boys had complete outfits on they went to go eat breakfast. 

-o-

“The mall?” Noctis scrunched up his face. They had bought clothes from here before. Clothes and- 

“Pretzels!” Prompto recognized this place! Regis chuckled. “Yes, this is the same mall with the pretzels. But today we’re going into a different section. The electronics store is uh... That way.” He pointed once they were inside before adjusting the baby carrier strapped to his chest. 

Noctis jumped over the lines of the mall’s tile floor. Prompto cheered him on. “Jump! Jump! Jump!” 

“Look, my sons, here’s the store. They have shopping carts, but... We don’t really need one. The television will be delivered to the house. After I choose and pay, of course.” Noctis pointed at the cart anyway. “Can I ride in it? Pleeeeeaaaaasssseeee?” 

“Okay. But we’re just going to the electronics section, we’re not going to traverse the whole store.” Regis relented, and took Prompto out of the baby carrier. Both boys were put in the shopping cart basket. “Stay sitting, or I’ll have to put you in the front with the straps.”

They rolled through the department store, past the clothing section and the cookware section and the- 

“Toys! Daddy, look! They have toys in this store!” Noctis lightly smacked at Prompto’s arm so he’d look. The blond gasped when he saw the display. One of the shelves in the aisle had an entire row of chocobo dolls, all different from his. “Wooooww...” 

Regis shook his head and turned into the aisle. “We’re just looking, okay?” He did not want to buy another plush, his son could barely carry the two that he already had. He snorted when he pictured Prompto trying to carry all the toys. Haha, he’d just have to lay in the pile. There would be no way to carry ALL of them. 

Surprisingly, he didn’t ask for one to hold. He was content just looking. Regis supposed they didn’t have the same sentimental value as the ones at home. They kept rolling through the aisle, and Noctis stood up in the cart. A bright red ‘try me’ button had caught his eye. “Can I press it?” 

“Sit down.” Regis held the toy closer after his son obeyed. The button was on a cactuar figurine, and pressing the button made it spin its arms. An electronic voice chirped out ‘one thousand needles!’ and the plastic needles on the figure’s head shot out of the toy. It caught all of them by surprise, and Regis scrambled to pick them up as his sons laughed. 

“Again, Daddy, again!” “That was crazy!” 

“No, I think we’re done with this toy.” Regis put it back and rolled the cart away, glad no one else had been in the aisle to witness that. Embarrassed anyway, he beelined towards his original destination. 

The television aisle was impressive. Large screens, small screens, flat, curved, wall-mounted screens all lined up neatly on the shelves... The boys stared at all the pictures moving on the televisions. Prompto asked for their cartoon, and Noctis nodded. “Yeah, can we watch that on these?” 

“After we buy one we can watch your show on it.” Regis tried to remember the model of the television at home. He wanted one that was similar... maybe slightly better. Just so it didn’t break again. 

A salesperson came up to the family. “Hello, sir! May I help you today?” 

Regis turned to face the forced cheeriness of the employee. “Ah, yes, actually. I’m looking for a certain brand and all these choices are a bit overwhelming.” “Well, just tell me what you had in mind, sir.” 

Prompto nudged Noctis. “What’s that?” He was pointing to the walker talkie on the employee’s belt. “I don’t know, Prom. It looks heavy.” 

The curious device spoke! 

However, the employee ignored it. It buzzed again, and repeated its phrase. Annoyed, the salesman took it off as he continued listening to Regis. He placed it on a shelf, and moved to the closest television to explain something. This proved to be a mistake. 

Noctis leaned out of the cart just enough to grab the discarded device. Sitting back down, he pressed a button. Prompto startled when a staticky hum started. “That’s loud!” 

The walkie talkie spoke. “What was that?” Noctis scrunched up his face and repeated. “You’re loud.” 

“Who is this?” 

Prompto pressed a different button on the device before Noctis could answer. It beeped, and turned off. “Oops?” 

“Hey, it stopped talking?” The eldest child pressed the same button again, hoping that would fix it. Regis finally noticed what they were doing, the employee had run off to check something and had asked the customer to stay put. “Oh no, he left that here. Let’s give it back to him when he returns.” 

Reluctantly, the children handed over the walkie talkie. When the employee came back Regis gave him his equipment, and the employee continued helping him with the televisions. 

Now bored again in the cart, Noctis poked Prompto. He made a staticky sound, imitating the walkie talkie. “Ksxtch, hello?” Prompto giggled and answered. “Chszt, hi Noct!” 

“Pzstjk, I see Daddy.” “Gshqt, I see you!” “Pfffchzt.” “Ksszbff.” 

Regis glanced over to see what all the noise was about before pushing the cart to one of the store’s registers. “Stop that, my sons, you’re spraying drool.” He paid attention to the salesperson again, who was now walking him through the process of purchasing the television. They had found a really nice flat screen, and Regis had already forgotten whether it was high definition or four something-or-other... All he cared about was that it would work properly. 

“Look at what I can do with my drool, Prom.” Noctis blew a spit bubble. It popped, and the younger brother tried to blow one of his own. He succeeded for two seconds before dissolving into a fit of giggles. “Noct, make one again!” They went back and forth before they had to stop. They were laughing too much. 

Regis turned around, beaming. “Alright, my sons! The television will be delivered to the house in an hour or so. You did a good job waiting... I think we should get a snack.” He rolled the cart back out to the main section of the mall and removed the children. Prompto went back into the baby carrier, and Noctis swung his father’s hand as they walked. “Do we want pretzels again, or should we check out the little ice cream shop?” 

“Ice cream!” Noctis decided for them. Prompto licked his lips, he had really liked the frozen treat the last time he tried it. “May I please have sprinkles?” 

“Of course, but which flavor do you want?” Regis was debating with himself as they drew closer. Should he get bowls, which were easier to eat from? Or should he risk the mess and get cones, so they could eat those too? Hmm...

The cashier cooed over the boys as the family readied to order. “Aren’t they just precious? Ooh, what sweethearts.” 

“Say thank you, my sons.” He turned so Prompto could see who he was thanking. He squeaked out his gratitude before burying his face in Daddy’s chest. “Aw, is someone shy, haha?”

Noctis pointed at the cone display when Regis started relaying their ice cream choices. “What’s that?” 

“Oh, that’s a waffle cone. It tastes different from a sugar cone.” The cashier hummed in agreement after the father finished explaining. “Would you like me to put cone pieces into their bowls?” 

“Ah yes, thank you. I didn’t even know that was an option. The sugar ones, please, I’m not sure they’d like the waffle cones. They’re a bit of an acquired taste...” He had settled on bowls, as he hadn’t wanted the boys to be messes until they got home. It was a nice surprise to learn that he could have both. Regis paid for the treats and turned again so his baby boy could see the ice cream order being assembled. The older brother stood on tippytoes and grabbed his sibling’s dangling foot. “Look, look, there are the sprinkles!” 

“Lots of colors!” The rainbow candies decorated the top. The cashier put all three orders on a tray, along with spoons and napkins. “There you are, cuties. Oh, and have a nice day, sir.” 

“Enjoy your day as well, miss.” Regis carried everything to a table, and pulled Prompto out of the baby carrier once more. The family began eating. “Thank you, Daddy.” 

“Yeah, thank you! Can we watch our show when we go home?” Noctis hadn’t forgotten about his father’s promise. Prompto started singing the theme song between spoonfuls of ice cream. “After the television is all set up. We should probably head home now, I’m sure the truck is probably loaded up by now.” 

It didn’t take long to return home, and Cor heard all about their adventure during the drive. The Caelums were exiting the car when the delivery truck parked in front of their house. “Ah, Cor, can you take them in while I help get the television?” 

Once their new television was inside, the boys played in the discarded box as Regis and Cor fumbled with the manual and the wires. Prompto and Noctis quickly abandoned their cardboard fortress once their show was finally loaded up and playing. 

They sat on the couch, and Regis draped a blanket over them before plopping down to watch. Even Cor sat to enjoy the cartoon. After fighting with the settings he wanted to appreciate his labor. 

“Daddy?” 

“Yes?” 

“I like the tv.” “Me too!” 

“Hmm, I’m glad.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized I only mentioned Camelia in the first chapter of Daycare Days. Writing this, I remembered why. I didn’t like her personality in game, there was something really shady and grating about her. She was rude in Episode Ignis, and I was like ‘I KNEW IT’!
> 
> She’s exactly the type of old lady I dislike. I left her in because every story needs a villain/conflict. Ardyn doesn’t physically appear until chapter three of Daycare Days, so this mean witch will have to do for now.

The television box had now become a fixture in their home. It was covered in crayon, and there were some blankets in it, and there was NO WAY it was leaving. 

Noctis had pitched a fit when Regis had tried to dispose of it that first day. Prompto had simply settled for crying, seeing no need to stomp around like big brother. Regis had let go of the box and negotiated a deal. “One week. That’s it.” 

It was now a month later. 

He had meant to throw it out, really, he had, but...

The box had become the Regalia. And the store. And Prompto’s chocobo ranch. And Noctis’ favorite napping spot. The list of uses for the damn cardboard was endless. 

So it had stayed, shoved into the corner of the living room when not in use. 

-o-

Prompto giggled and covered his mouth. He could hear Noctis counting. There was no way Noct would find him in their box! 

A minute later, he was proven wrong. 

“My turn to hide!” 

“One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six-“ 

“Seveneightnineten!” Regis had entered the room and snuck up on Prompto to tickle him. Noctis peeked out of the box to see why his brother was squealing with laughter. “Hahahelp, N-Noctahahaha!!” 

“I’ll save you!” Regis simply caught his eldest in a bear hug and began tickling him. “Ohohhahahaha noooo! Pro-oohahahammptoooo!” 

Prompto latched onto his father’s leg and tried to pull him away. “Let him go, hahaha!” Regis let Noctis wiggle away so he could grab Prompto again. “Okay, I’ll just tickle you instead!” “Nooo!” 

Noctis grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa. He began beating his father’s leg. “Ha! I’m gonna win!” 

Regis dramatically ‘died’ onto the sofa. He whispered, with only one peeking eye open. “My sons... Come closer.” They inched forward, wary of the tickle monster. “Are you ready to go the Fleurets?” 

“Yay! Luna! Ravus! Miss Sylva!” “Yeah! Let’s go!” 

“I have a work matter I need Miss Sylva’s expertise on. Let’s visit the bathroom before we head out.” The father didn’t want any accidents in the car seats. 

-o-

The drive over was spent jamming out to the radio, a new pop song from Galahd had taken over all the stations. The boys didn’t know all the words yet, but that didn’t stop them from belting out the tune. When it got to the chorus they sang the vocalizations, they were easier to replicate than the words. “Whooa aaaaooohhh waaa!” When he parked the car, Regis found himself humming it as they approached the Fleurets’ door. 

The nanny answered. 

“Oh, Sylva has been waiting for you for some time now. She’s in her office, and the children are playing.” Camelia didn’t try to hide her disapproval of the perceived tardiness. She had been told the Caelums would be here at ten, and they had the audacity to show up twenty minutes into the hour. Such rude houseguests, indeed!

“Hello, Miss Claustra.” Regis refrained from rolling his eyes, but his ire was obvious. Thank goodness Monica wasn’t like this. If she had been, she would have been fired ages ago. Why did Sylva even keep Camelia in her employ? “Go on, you two can join Luna and Ravus.” Urging the boys to find their friends, he regarded the nanny again. “If they say they need the bathroom, come get me please.” 

He went into Sylva’s home office for her advice on a potential future project. 

Noctis guided Prompto to Luna’s room, Camelia trailing behind. The little boys peeked into the room and found their friends stacking blocks. “Oh!” Prompto clapped and grabbed one from the edge of the pile after he approached. “Here, Ray-Ray!” 

Ravus sighed at the nickname and took the block, adding it carefully to the tower that was already wobbling. Noctis ignored the structure and went to Luna’s toy chest. “I want a different game.” 

As he searched through it Luna got up off of the floor and bounced over to the closet. She opened it using the door handle and then started digging around for something inside. “Found it! Let’s play dress up!” She dragged a box out, kicking shoes from the bottom of the closet out of the way. Prompto abandoned helping Ravus to go see what the new game was. 

Noctis let the toy chest’s lid drop and Camelia winced at the loud sound. “Gently close it next time.“ He ran over and grabbed something as soon as she opened the lid. He held it up, and saw that it was one of Sylva’s old blouses. “Ooh, a fancy shirt.” 

“Put it on! Hmm, here. Prompto, wear this! You’ll look pretty! And I will wear this... Oh Ray-Ray~”

“I don’t wanna play dress up. Miss Camelia, do I have to? I don’t want to.” Ravus kept building as the nanny answered. She had been watching the children from the doorway, not wanting to sit on the floor like an uncivilized maniac. “It’s nice to play with your sister, but you’re not required to.” 

Prompto was stuck in the white dress that Luna had handed him. The zipper was still closed, and so it was covering his head and tangling his arms. “Noct, help!” 

Luna, who was closer, tried to yank the dress down to where it was to supposed to lay on his body. Unfortunately, her tugging did nothing. “Put it on, stop squiggly wiggling. Prompto! Stay still!” 

“I-I’m tryyyyyiiiiinnngggg, hmfgrpl, I neeeed heeeeelllppp!” 

Noctis moved Luna aside. “Here, Prompto, I got it! Don’t cry!” He also tried yanking... and he ripped the dress a little. All three of them froze upon hearing tearing fabric. 

The noise made Camelia finally interfere. “Honestly, three years old and you can’t dress yourselves?” She shooed Noctis’ and Luna’s hands away to free Prompto. “What is this world coming to? Here, you’re fixed. Run along now.” Finally wearing the dress properly, the blond stepped forward to show Noctis. 

He tripped on the dragging hem of the too-large dress. 

“Take it off.” Camelia immediately began removing the dangerous clothing after he stood back up. “But Prom needs-“ 

“No. A young man shouldn’t be wearing dresses anyway.” Camelia turned her nose up and dropped the dress back into the box.Ravus stopped building to correct the nanny’s outdated thinking. “Mom said that boys can wear whatever they want. I know because we saw a big boy at the store with nail polish on and it looked cool. She said I shouldn’t have pointed and asked so loud too.” 

“I’ve seen this city go mad...” Camelia shook her head at all the rebellious teens in Insomnia. Honestly, the future was doomed. People just weren’t the same anymore. 

Luna put her hands on her hips, and her voice pulled the nanny from her cranky musings. “I want him to wear it.” Noctis pulled it back out of the box to try to put it on his brother (properly this time).

“It was too big for him anyway, pick something else.” 

“No. I want him to wear it!” 

“Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. Lower your voice.” 

“But I want to play dress up and you’re ruining it! I... I’m so mad and I don’t like you anymore!” Luna crossed her arms and turned away from the irritating woman in charge of watched them. 

“You are being very rude. Go sit in the living room. You need to calm down and ask again in a nicer voice.” Camelia pointed to the bedroom door as she banished the child to timeout. Noctis tried to bargain for her freedom. “She didn’t mean it!” 

He was ignored as Luna was escorted out of the room. “Where is she going, Ray-Ray?” 

“Living room, to sit.” He knew, because usually he was the one in trouble for bossing his sister around. Prompto put the dress away, it was no longer fun now that it had caused all the trouble. Camelia re-entered the room, without Luna, and huffed. “Noctis, clean up the rest of this mess. And have your brother help.” 

The little boy actually rolled his eyes. “Hmph.” 

“You’re just like your father.” Camelia had noticed Regis’ poor manners, and apparently his son had learned them. There was no hope for the new one he had adopted then, it seemed the small child would be just as rude as them. 

Prompto and Noctis put the rest of the dress up stuff away before helping Ravus clean up the blocks. It was no fun now that Luna was gone. 

-o-

The timeout had ended at lunchtime, which had only been ten minutes away. Prompto and Noctis had sat down to look at a picture book with Ravus while they waited. 

Luna apologized, and the Caelum boys had hugged her to celebrate her return. Regis and Sylva had come out of the office for lunch, and had heard all about the fiasco. The children left the table when they finished eating, but the adults stayed behind to talk a bit. They needed a break from all the boring business work. Camelia stayed with them at the table to offer her opinions on their conversation. 

“Watch this, haha.” 

Ravus began playing his sister’s butt like a drum, ignoring her whiny request to stop. 

Prompto watched the entire thing unfold with his thumb in his mouth. He removed it and moved closer to Noctis. ‘Pap!’ The unsuspecting sibling turned after his booty was smacked. “Hey!! I’m gonna get you hahahahaha!” The blond squealed and started running away. 

Noctis only caught up with him because he tripped again. The older boy helped his downed brother stand again. ‘Pap!’ “Gotcha!” 

“Noct! Hey! That’s my butt!”

“I know! You can’t get me, nah nah nah nah nah pffffflllpppll!” He blew a raspberry and turned to run away before he was caught. 

The other two stopped fighting because now it had turned into a game. They ran around, smacking each other’s bottoms and giggling like crazy. Nobody was hitting hard enough to hurt, so nobody felt the need to tattle even though hitting was bad. 

Wait, if hitting was part of the game...

Ravus ‘missed’ and hit Noctis upside the head. 

“Hey! Butts only, stupid!” 

Of course, this was when Regis entered the room. He was about to have his sons use the bathroom, it had been a while. “Noctis Lucis Caelum.” 

“We were playing but Ray-Ray is being mean now!” Noctis tattled, hoping to avoid getting in trouble for saying a bad word. Prompto latched onto his father’s leg, maybe he could help Noct avoid timeout by distracting Daddy. “We’re sorry! We’ll stop playing that.” 

Regis shook his head. They weren’t going to ‘cute’ their way out of this. “We don’t call people stupid. Please apologize. And what do you mean, ‘butts only’?”

Luna explained after Noctis apologized to Ravus. “You smack somebody’s butt and get a point!” 

“And...?” There had to be a reason such a game came about. Regis had not raised his children to hit. Learning why the game was fun would help him stop it. 

“And it’s funny! Look!” Luna smacked Ravus’ butt to prove how great the game was. 

Regis didn’t understand. They weren’t even tallying the points to win, why did they bother with that? “Well, no more hitting. It’s not safe, or kind...” 

He finally took the boys to the bathroom. When they finished, Regis let them know that they only had an hour left to play. “And no more smacking butts.” 

“Okay, Daddy.” “Yes, Mr. Regis.”

They waited until he left the room to resume their game. 

-o-

When they got home, poor Weskham was their first victim. 

The boys had intended to ask for a snack to eat, but the chef made the mistake of asking how their day was. 

Noctis had laughed. “We learned a new game!!” Prompto had immediately demonstrated on his brother, and Weskham just shook his head. His second mistake was turning around to get some cookies for them. 

He felt little hands attacking. He froze. He turned back around, grinning evilly. “I have an idea.” 

The laughing boys quieted. “What?” 

“I bet you can’t get your father.” 

They ran off to prove him wrong. When the chef heard a loud ‘HEY!’ he bust out laughing. Prompto ran back into the kitchen and hid behind Weskham. “He caught Noct and Daddy is tickling him and he said I’M NEXT!! HELP!!!”

“OH, REGIS... PROMPTO IS HIDING IN HERE!” 

The blond gasped, and Noctis ran into the room. “RUN, PROM, HE’S COMING!” 

“AAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, the childhood game of booty smacking. It fits, because Prompto does that to Noctis in game!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys know about rubber chickens, right?

Regis went to answer the door, the bell had interrupted the story he was reading to his sons. 

“Who’s that, Daddy?” 

“I don’t know. Stay here.” He handed the book to Noctis to keep their spot. The little boy put it down anyway and went to hide in their television box. Daddy would be so surprised when he came back, haha! 

Opening the door revealed the mailman. He had a package and a clipboard. “Sign here please, Mr. ... Caelum?” 

“Yes, that’s me. Ah, here you are. Thank you.” The father accepted the box and closed the door. He went back to where his sons were, reading the post office label as he walked. The sender was...

Ugh. 

Cousin Ardyn had sent this. 

Prompto stopped messing with the phone Regis had left on the arm of the sofa. He had been about to join Noct in the box when he spotted the device. Ooh, that selfie came out nice! “What is that, Daddy?” 

“It’s a package from my cousin...” Regis carried it to his office to get scissors to open the box. Prompto ran over to where Noct was hiding. “Look, Daddy has a box! It’s tiny though, not big like our box.” 

“Let’s go see what’s inside!” 

The boys caught up with their father. He was reading the letter that had been inside. “Ardyn sent these for you, Noctis. He says he’s sorry he hasn’t visited in so long. Hmm, he doesn’t need to be sorry about that. I’m glad we haven’t seen him.” 

“Who’s Ardyn?” Noctis didn’t remember the family member that his father obviously disliked. He climbed on the office chair by the desk, trying to reach the package. “Come down from there. I’m going to put it on the floor.” 

Now that the box was accessible, Noctis pulled out the first toy he saw. It was a small robot... treant?? Mandrake??? Really, what was this thing????? Fake white hair hung off of the frame. Noctis turned it over, and Prompto stepped back. “I d-don’t like that. It’s m-mmean.” 

He remembered a toy like that from before Noct and Daddy. He knew it wasn’t one he had played with often, all the fake hair fell out easily. The patchy ‘fur’, coupled with the hard metal frame, stood out in Prompto’s memories. It had pinched his wrist once, and so he had cried whenever he saw it again. He had even knocked it down once to get it away from him. 

Regis knelt beside his upset son before just sitting on the floor with him. “How is it mean?” He hadn’t even played with it yet, why was he crying? Prompto shook his head and turned to hug his father. He buried his face into the warm chest. “Noctis, put that down and come here please.” 

The eldest child dropped the offensive toy and wormed his way into his father’s arms. He poked Prompto. “Hey. Why are you sad?” 

“That-t th-thing is meee-eeaaan. It hu-urt me. I d-don’t l-like it!” 

“Daddy, I don’t like that thing either now. Where did it hurt you, Prompto?” Noctis grabbed at his brother’s arm, trying to pull him away from Daddy so he could perform a whole body scan. It was unnecessary, the blond turned to hold up where the other toy had hurt him so long ago. 

“R-right therrrreee. Kiiiissss iiiittt bbb-bbbbeeeettttteeerrrrr!” 

Both members of his family kissed the wrist that he had held up. After doing so, Noctis kicked the robot... whatever-it-was... over. “Bad toy!”

“Noctis Lucis Caelum, violence will solve nothing.” Regis put Prompto down on the floor next to him, easing him off of his lap. “Here, let me have it. I’ll go throw it in the trash.” Noctis handed the toy to Regis. The father flipped it over, trying to find a label or something that would tell him what it actually was. Not that knowing such a thing mattered, he was happy to get rid of the creepy toy. 

Oh, here! Etched onto the battery plate... Barbarus. Hmm. Was that the name of the model or the company? Either way, it would be leaving the house. 

The boys explored the rest of the box’s contents. Prompto wiped his eyes as Noctis pulled out another item. “Look, Prom, I think it’s a chocobo!” 

“R-Really?” 

He held it up. It was a rubber chocobo, and it made a high-pitched squeak of a ‘kweh’. That made them laugh, and Noctis squeezed it to make the thing squeak more. Prompto asked for a turn with the new chocobo. 

Regis, having thrown the toy away, walked back towards his office. While in the hallway he heard an odd sound coming from the room. 

‘KweEhheeeHhKweeEEeeHHeeehh’

Ugh, it sounded horrible. He entered the office. “Boys, what is that awful-“ 

“Hahahahaha!! Look, Daddy, look!” “Again! Squishy squishy! Hahaha!” Prompto and Noctis had one end of the rubber chocobo each. They had discovered that tugging on it would create more noise. 

Regis had to almost yell to be heard over the annoying, warped ‘kweh’. “What else is in the box?” He hoped that would distract them so they’d stop playing with the rubber chocobo. 

It worked. The toy was abandoned so they could check what was left in the package. Only a shirt remained. It had ornate patterns on the front, and was too big for either child. “Why would he send this? It wouldn’t fit a three year old... And it’s too small for me.” Oh well, the shirt could be donated. 

The article of clothing was ignored in favor of returning to the game of ‘How Much Noise Can We Make With This?’. The rubber chocobo kwehed once more. 

Prompto stopped squeezing the toy when he saw Daddy wincing. “What’s wrong?” 

“Oh, I don’t like that sound. But it’s your toy, so go ahead.” Regis was just glad it wasn’t making anybody cry like that robot thing had. Noctis put the rubber chocobo on the floor and stomped on it. “Listen to this, haha!” 

“Don’t step on it, you’ll ruin... I mean, uh, take that to the living room. You can stomp it there. Where I can’t hear it, preferably.” Regis normally discouraged whatever destructive tendencies arose, but he would be glad if this toy broke. 

“Come on, Prom, let’s put it in our box!” 

-o-

‘Kweeehhheeeeeee heeeh!’ 

Prompto squeezed it and then knocked on the cardboard anyway. “Can I come in?” 

“No, I’m sleeping.” 

“It’s morning now, wake up!” Prompto crawled into the box, and now the ‘doorbell’ was the ‘alarm’. Noctis snatched the rubber chocobo. “Prompto.” 

“Hey, Daddy said no snatching. May I please have that back, Noct?” 

“Prompto.” 

“??...Yes, Noct?” 

“I have a ‘KweeEeeeHH’ for you.” Noctis held his mouth open as he squished the toy, making it look like the sound came from him. Prompto laughed. “What’s a ‘kweh’? I mean ‘kweee ehkweh’? I mean-“ he tried to imitate the kweh with his own voice. 

“Wait, where’s your Bow Chocobo?” 

“On the bed! But Chocobo is here.” He grabbed the doll that had been left in the cardboard box. Prompto hugged it and Noctis made the rubber chocobo talk to the fabric one. “I love you, ‘kWeeehheeee’.” 

“I love you too, kweh kweh! Noct, can you squishy it again when Chocobo needs to talk? I can’t kweh.” 

Regis finally decided to brave the horrendous noise. He had to, it was time for lunch. “My sons, it’s-“ 

‘KwEEH eehh kweeeee’ 

He sighed. Walking over to the giggling boys, he held his hand out. Prompto grabbed it. “Hi, Daddy! We’re playing pretend house with chocobos.” 

“Hello. But I held my hand out for the-“

‘Kwehh EH kweeeeehh’ 

“That. Please hand it to me, Noctis, it’s time for lunch.” 

“Here, Daddy. What are we eating?” Noctis handed over the annoying toy and Regis tried not to squeeze it, not wanting to hear anymore of the high-pitched ruckus. Prompto dropped Chocobo back in their box. 

“Cid sent me a photo of some meat wraps he made the other day, and a salad he had Cindy help make. Seeing it kind of got me in the mood for some.” Regis put the noisy rubber monstrosity on the couch and took his sons to wash their hands. 

They sat down, and Prompto noticed first. “Daddy, where’s the squeaky chocobo?“ 

“It will stay in the living room for now. No toys at the table while we’re eating.” 

Noctis scrunched his eyebrows together. “Why not?” 

“Because then you will play instead of eating your meal.” Regis bit into the food. “Mm, Weskham made these perfectly.” 

“Why does Weskham make all the food, Daddy?” Prompto tried to bite his meat wrap, but all the fillings spilled out after he picked it up. He settled for just eating everything with his fingers. The older Caelums looked at the youngest. Regis realized he had never told that story and Noctis realized he had never thought to ask. It was just the way things in the house worked. 

“Well, when I was younger, I traveled a lot-“ 

“You told us that, I remember!” “Yeah, you saw monsters...” 

Regis nodded and continued his tale. “Yes, and this one time Weskham was sick while we were traveling.” 

“Wes traveled with you?” 

“Yes, and Cid, and Clarus, and even Cor at one point...” Regis shook his head. “I’m getting off track. Point is, when Weskham was sick during our travels we only ate toast. Nobody else was as good a chef. Well, Cid was decent, but after eating Wes’ food for so long everything else just seemed bland.” 

The chef had been entering the dining room to bring in the drinks he had forgotten. Two sippy cups, with juice, and a glass of iced tea for Regis. “Are you telling them about the time you almost burned the tent with your ‘cooking’?”

“I did not, that was Cid!” 

“Yeah, yeah, and Cid says it was Clarus!” Weskham rolled his eyes. Regis huffed before realizing he had a witness. “Cor was there! He can back me up.” 

“Fine! Ask him, I’m sure it was your fault. Yeah, I was passed out from the... What was I even sick with? It’s been so long, but that doesn’t matter. It was definitely you who did it.” 

Regis and Weskham went back and forth, arguing about the misremembered memory. Prompto and Noctis left the dining room. They had finished eating. 

“Daddy was talking about Cor.” Noctis gasped. “We didn’t show Cor the booty smack game!” 

Prompto covered his bottom before his brother could get him. “Yeah, we have to show Cor! Where is he, Noct?” The blond thought about it. Cor always drove them places, so maybe he was waiting in the Regalia now? “Is he in the car?” 

“Maybe. I don’t know.” Noctis led the charge anyway. 

-o-

They couldn’t open the door to the garage. They went back to the living room, and rediscovered the rubber chocobo. 

‘Kweehhh-‘ ‘RRRIIIIIINNNGG’

“Oh! Daddy’s phone is ringing!” Noctis ran to answer the office phone that they could hear screeching. Prompto peeked into the room, watching from the doorway as his brother climbed up the chair and onto the desk. Noct grabbed the phone, and Prom moved closer to ask who it was. 

“Oh hi Cor! Daddy and Wes were talking about you! We have to show you our new game. Oh, Prompto is trying to reach for the phone. Do you want to say hi? Here, Prom.” Noctis handed the phone over and climbed off of the desk. 

“Hi, Cor. I have a rubber chocobo now. Look!” Prompto squeezed the toy by the phone, and then asked if Cor had seen how cool it was. 

“I can’t see the toy, but I can hear it. Is your father there? I need to talk to him about tomorrow-“ Cor was cut off by a coughing fit. The chauffeur was obviously sick. He would not be able to work until he felt better. 

“Cor? Are you okay?” Prompto held the phone close as the man coughed. He finally stopped and answered. “I’m just a little under the weather.” 

“Noct, Cor is under some weather and can’t stop coughing.” 

“Can I have the phone back?” Noctis went to snatch it, but Prompto shook his head. “Hold on, Noct, hold on please. It’s my turn.” 

Cor started speaking again. “Boys, where’s your father?” He could hear them talking, phone forgotten. “But you already said hi. It’s my turn now.” 

“Oh. Okay. I did say hi already.” He held the phone to his ear one last time. “Bye, Cor, it’s Noct’s turn now. Have fun with your weather. Bye bye.” He passed the phone back to Noctis. 

“Hi again, Cor. Now it’s my turn. Anyway, we got this rubber chocobo and it says kweh all weird when you stomp it.” 

Cor waited for a break in the story. “That’s all very, very-“ Another coughing fit interrupted and Noctis waited. “- very nice, but can you please tell your father to call me back?” 

Regis found them in the office just before they hung up. “Who are you calling?” 

“Daddy, Cor called! And I had a turn and Noct got two turns to talk to him because we were telling him about this!” ‘KweeeeeeeEEEhhh’ 

“Ah, yes. That. Well, please pass the phone over, Noctis.” He held his hand out to rescue Cor from the chatty children. “Wait, Daddy, Prompto needs another turn to talk to Cor.” 

The phone was passed back to the youngest. It was only fair that if one brother got two turns, then the other brother needed to get two turns too. “Hi, Cor! It’s my turn and I have a question.” 

Cor loved his boss’s sons. He really did. They were cute, and always nice to him, and it was really really easy to impress them. He had been there to drive the Caelums home when Noctis was born. He had been there to drive Prompto home when he was adopted. They always told him of their exploits as he drove them around with their father, and he enjoyed the tales. It was refreshing to see the world from their young eyes. 

But right now, with a headache and an aching throat, he sorely wanted one thing: to hang up and go back to bed. “Prompto. I need to say goodbye. I really don’t feel well. You can ask me the question another time. Please pass the phone to Regis.” 

“Okay. Bye, Cor. Be good.” Prompto handed the phone to Regis. “He wants to talk to you, Daddy!” 

“Come on, Prom, let’s go play!” The brothers ran off to continue their previous game. Regis finally possessed the phone and Cor explained his dilemma. “That’s fine, I can drive to work tomorrow. Feel better. Oh, wait, before you hang up! Remember that time the tent almost burned down? Who was the dummy who almost did that?” 

“...Regis, that was your fault. Goodbye.” 

Chocobo turds. Now he was going to have to admit to Weskham that the chef was right. Unless... they never spoke of it again... Yeah, that would work. Hehehehe. 

He hung up to find where the boys had run off to. 

-o-

“But why can’t we sleep with it?” Noctis crossed his arms as Prompto handed over the toy. 

Regis sighed as the thing kwehed in his hand. “No noisy toys at bedtime.” This rubber chocobo needed to hurry up and break already, he wanted an excuse to get it out of the house. Prompto hugged Noctis. “It’s okay, I get to squishy you instead. Night night, Noct. I love you.” 

“Yeah. I get to squishy you too. Even though you don’t kweh. I love you.” 

“Goodnight, my sons. I’m glad you don’t kweh.” He kissed their foreheads and pulled the blanket up. “I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/ji5HloVPndQ


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Slides in at bedtime* Sorry I’m late!! It’s still technically the weekend, uh hehe... 
> 
> I know I’m not on a schedule, but I prefer posting on Saturday because people generally have more time to read. Plus, it’s nice to wake up Sunday morning and see comments from you guys.

“And this is where we’ll stay while we visit the Saxham Outpost.” Regis pointed to a spot on the map. His sons shifted to get a better look, and the bed creaked. Cid was going with them, the old friends had been reminiscing about their past adventures. With the Caelum family vacation coming up in June, Regis thought it was a perfect chance to revisit their traveling days. 

Prompto took his thumb out of his mouth. “Can I take Chocobo?” They had already packed the suitcases, and there were hardly any toys in them. Just clothes, and shoes, and other boring stuff Daddy said they needed.

“I’d rather you didn’t, we don’t want to lose it. But he can stay here and guard the house right here on your bed.” 

“What are we going to do at Sack-am?” Noctis was actually too excited to sleep. They were going to ride on an airship! He had seen those on the television! They could fly and it was so so so coooooool!!

“Haha, Saxham, my son. And we are going to relax there. Saxham has a farm and a reservoir. It will be nice to get back to nature, living in the city we don’t get a lot of chances to just slow down and breathe.” Regis was looking forward to the vacation because it meant no office, no phone, no paperwork... but most importantly: family time with his sons!!! He could barely wait to show them all the ins and outs of roughing it in the country. 

Prompto quirked his head. “I’m breathing now?” What did Daddy mean, slow down and breathe? They were always breathing, why would breathing at Saxham be special??

Regis didn’t understand his confusion over the turn of phrase. “Yes? You’re breathing now. Alright, alright. It’s bedtime. Lay down and we’ll read our bedtime story.”

Noctis crossed his arms. “I am too bouncy to sleep right now.” 

Two stories later, he was snoring. 

-o-

They had dropped their luggage off at a caravan in a nearby outpost before walking to the farm. Well, the adults walked. The children rode in style. It wasn’t far, but it was a bit too much for their little legs. Regis had brought Noctis’ old stroller, luckily he still fit in the seat. Prompto was in his baby carrier and Cid gave Cindy a piggyback ride. 

“What are those rock things?” 

“Oh, them arches are all over Lucis.” Cid knelt so his granddaughter could hop down. The group stood in front of the wooden fence that served as the farm’s entrance as Regis unbuckled Noctis. He could walk now, having reached their destination. 

They followed the dirt path as Cid named the places where he remembered seeing other arches. Cindy ignored her grandfather, having heard all these tales at bedtime. 

Prompto tried twisting around in the baby carrier to see what Noctis was asking about. Regis set Prompto on the ground with his brother. “I didn’t forget about you. Down you go!“ He took off the carrier and put it in the stroller, watching as his sons found something on the path. 

Noctis had stopped walking to pick up a rock. “There’s lots of crystals here, haha!” 

“Put it back, we aren’t taking ten pounds of rocks home with us.“ The collection was large enough as it was without the new discoveries. “Haha, can you imagine trying to get back on the airship with half of the Lucian countryside shoved in the stroller?”

Regis and Cid joked with each other as they all approached the portion of the farm that was tilled. They walked along the outer edge by a low stone wall, heading towards the covered tables they could see across the field. There were some silos and buildings too, it was likely that all the farm equipment was stored there. 

The children were slightly ahead of the adults, but they were within sight. Regis kept an eye on them as he kept pushing the stroller and chatting with his best friend. Cindy poked Prompto, trying to get his attention. “Look! I found a bug, teehee!” She picked up a beetle and held it aloft, gasping in surprise when she accidentally dropped it. Immediately, Cindy began searching for her lost discovery. 

The little boy ran behind his brother before she could find it again. “Noct...” 

“Prompto hates bugs. I think they’re icky too.” Noctis tugged on his sibling’s shirt. “Come on, I have a question.” The Caelum boys moved back towards their father, Cindy skipping along behind them. She didn’t need the bug if it scared her friend. 

“Daddy? Can I run in the dirt over there?” There was so much open space, and it was calling to him. It was begging for someone to run across it. “I don’t know if we’re allowed to go in that portion of the field. Don’t worry, you’ll get a chance to play in all that dirt. We’re going to help pick some of the Eos green peas that grow here.” 

Cid was confused. “What’re ya goin’ on about, Reggie? I thought we came here to relax, not do farm work.” He had been told that they would visit the reservoir, not that they’d be doing manual labor on this vacation. Regis stopped pushing the stroller and waited until all eyes were on him. 

“The farm has a small program where they’ll let families pick some of the vegetables. The farmer I spoke to on the phone said we can keep half of what we pick.” He had done some research before deciding on this location, and while he was mainly here to relax he had an ulterior motive. If Noctis saw where vegetables came from and had fun harvesting them, then maybe he’d be more willing to eat them. Regis wasn’t too worried about Prompto’s eating habits, his youngest son ate whatever he was given. 

Cid shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing like some fresh food, I reckon. Cindy and I don’t mind gettin’ dirty cuz o’ work, right, monkey?” 

“I love dirt, hahaha!” To prove her point, Cindy grabbed a handful and threw it up. Before she could be asked to stop, Noctis copied her, laughing as he also grabbed some grass blades. Prompto flinched as some of the raining earth fell on him. “Daddy, I need bathtime. Look. I’m dirty.” 

“We’re going to get dirtier once we start digging the vegetables out.”

“We don’t have to eat them, do we?” Noctis grimaced. Regis put on his most convincing smile. “My son, I know you’ll love picking them. I bet you will want to eat a whole bunch when we’re done.” 

Cid rolled his eyes. He could already see that this plan was doomed to fail. 

-o-

“You’re not supposed to open the pods right now, we do that when we can wash them off.” 

“Oh. Sorry, Daddy.” Prompto looked at the ground, bending comically low as he tried to pick up all the peas that had exploded out of his opened pod. He stepped on a pea while trying to grab another. “Uh oh.” 

“It’s okay, just pick a different one and put it in the basket.” He watched as the blond found another pod to remove from the plant. Regis turned to watch Noctis, hopeful. “Are you having fun?”

The vegetable hater was loving it. He got to rip things! And throw it in a basket! And he wasn’t being forced to eat them! (Yet.) He got to spend time with Daddy and Prompto and Cid and Cindy!!! This farm place was cool!! “Yeah, I like picking peas!” 

Cindy looked in their basket. “I’m gettin’ hungry. Can we eat lunch?” 

“Reggie, did ya have a plan for lunch...?” 

“Uuuhh..... We can check the buildings where the farmer gave us these baskets. I’m sure they know where we can get food.” They hadn’t been picking veggies very long, maybe fifteen minutes, but lunchtime had snuck up on them. The walk over had taken longer than planned. Regis hoped the farm had something, or else they would have to walk all the way back to the outpost where they had rented the caravan. 

Gathering the rather light baskets, the group headed out of the field. “I’m surprised that this section of the field is so empty. I saw some families head over to the far side of the field. Maybe there were more peas there?”

“Don’t know, Reggie. Shoulda asked where the best spots were instead of just following wherever Noctis ran to.” Cid didn’t really mind, because his friend’s son had enjoyed running to the random spot they had been harvesting. He was just giving Regis a hard time. The man made it too easy and fun to mess with him. “Cindy, ya need help with yer basket?” 

The little girl shook her head. “I got it, Paw Paw. I’m a big girl.” She had her arms hugged around the basket, and it wasn’t even smacking her thighs when she walked like Noct’s basket was. 

Regis saw that Prompto was struggling with the basket. To be fair, it was half his size. He was determined to carry it though. If Noctis could do it then he could too. “Do you need help, Prompto?” 

“I can do it!” 

A few feet later he stopped. Prompto put the basket down and dramatically wiped his head before picking the basket up again. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes, Daddy, I can do this!” 

Noctis, who had been proudly leading the group away, turned to watch Prompto and see why Daddy kept asking him questions. He saw that his brother was struggling, and marched back to him. “Put that down.”

“But-“

Noctis put his basket down to grab Prompto’s. Regis was about to stop him, but he spoke again. “It’s rest time for your muscles. You are strong but stop for a minute. I need to rest too.” He plopped down next to the baskets. 

Prompto flopped down, exhausted. It was hard trying to walk on the uneven dirt and balance a too big basket. He hadn’t dropped any more peas though, so he was happy. “Was I a big boy?”

“Yeah, Prompto, ya carried yer basket just like me and Noctis and Paw Paw and Mr. Reggie!” Cindy beamed at her friend, and he smiled back just as radiantly. 

Cid hummed thoughtfully. They still had a short distance to go, and Rsgis’ youngest wouldn’t be able to carry that basket the rest of the way. As it was, they had only walked a few feet before taking this break. Cid didn’t want the accomplishment to be diminished when the boy inevitably needed to ask for help. “Pass them baskets here.” 

Regis quirked an eyebrow. What was this old rascal up to?

The mechanic dumped everything they had picked into one basket and stacked the others. “Reggie, carry these. I’ll take this one. Kiddos, I have a job for ya.” 

“Huh?” “What job?” “Paw Paw??”

The job was actually a distraction, so the kids wouldn’t ask for the baskets back. “Help me count the steps to where we left that darn stroller.” 

“That was all the way by the silos, Paw Paw!” Cindy pointed at where she was talking about. She liked that word, silos. Mr. Reggie had explained it to her. 

“Yep. Okay, one...” “Two... Three...”

Regis was proud that all three kids made it up to ten. He had them repeat after him as they counted higher. “...Fifty-two. We made it!” 

“We were counting for forever! Prompto, are you okay?” Noctis checked on his brother. The younger boy nodded, it had been easier to walk without having to carry anything. “I’m okay, Noct.” 

“Let’s find a farmer to ask about lunch.” Regis started towards the building where they had been given the baskets. 

-o-

The farm didn’t sell any meals, but one of the farmers was about to drive over to the outpost nearby. He offered Cid a ride over, and the mechanic agreed. He’d pick up lunch for everyone and bring it back. 

Regis waited with his sons and Cindy. 

“That cloud looks like a hat.” Prompto tilted his head up to the sky and pointed. Lowering his gaze, he giggled as Cindy held up her own headwear. “Like mine!” 

Noctis went to grab it. “Why do you always have a hat on?” 

“Paw Paw said it was our fish all uni-firm.” Cindy pointed to the Hammerhead logo. “Means I’m a mechanic. A good one, too.” 

“I think you mean ‘official uniform’. And I’m sure you’re the only child mechanic in all of Eos.” Regis dug through the stroller’s basket, he was sure he had wipes in there. Ah! Here they are. “Come, let’s wipe off your hands for when Cid gets back.”

Noctis found another cloud shape as Daddy was wiping Prompto’s hands. “That looks like an anak.” 

“Do any o’ those live around here?” 

“No, Cindy, there aren’t any close by. I think.” Regis heard the truck pulling back in, and he turned to visually confirm. “Ah, look, Cid is back with the food.” 

“Yay!” 

Cid sauntered over with a bag of pre-packaged sandwiches and water bottles. “Remember our gas station food days, Reggie?” 

“Yes. Dark times indeed.” Whenever Weskham didn’t have any ingredients left, Regis and his friends had to rely on whatever the nearest establishment sold. Usually that meant rest stop food... he had hoped his sons would never have to experience such low quality dining. Oh well. 

“Well, the food’s improved since then. I’m jealous, why couldn’t it be this good when we were travelin’?” Cid distributed the food, and Noctis instantly started picking out the lettuce and tomatoes to give to Prompto. 

Regis sighed. So much for his plan. Biting into his sandwich, he saw what his friend meant. “This is much better.” 

After eating, the Caelums and the Aurums headed over to the reservoir. There was a small pier, and nearby a man sat with a tackle box. “What does he have?” 

“He has lures, to catch fish. Let’s see if we can see any by the water’s edge.” Regis left the stroller a distance from the gentle ripples. The children peered in. 

“I see a leaf...” Prompto scanned the water. Cid picked up a rock and skipped it. “All the fish’re probably in the deeper part. Watch this.” 

“I wanna try!” Cindy grabbed a stone to throw. Noctis picked one up too before deciding to put it in his pocket for his collection. He began filling his pockets instead of skipping the rocks. His father sighed, he’d have to empty that out later. 

Regis and Cid had a tiny contest to see who could get the most skips. There was no point system, so nobody could really win. They were just playing for the fun of it. Prompto tried to throw one, but it just plonked into the water. Cindy laughed, and tried to recreate the sound. 

“Daddy... I’m sleepy.” Prompto tugged on the hem of his father’s shorts. Noctis chimed in. “I want to take a nap too!” 

“I’m not tired at all.” Cindy kept throwing rocks. 

“Well... Noctis, you can lay down in your stroller. I just have to adjust-” Regis walked over to the stroller, put on the baby carrier, and lowered the seat. “-this... And Prompto, I guess you can sleep in the carrier.” 

The eldest son climbed up onto his spot and closed his eyes. Regis put his tiny son in the baby carrier, and began pushing the stroller back and forth gently. He moved the canopy to block the sun for Noctis, and turned so Prompto wasn’t directly in sunlight either. 

Cid smirked. “Cindy, ya sure ya ain’t tired?” 

“Well...” Prompto and Noctis looked so cozy... and it was hot... and they had walked a lot... “Can we play after?”

“Of course we can play after ya wake up. Come here, monkey.” Cid held his granddaughter and rocked the same way Regis was. When the kids fell asleep, Cid and Regis sat by the water. The stroller sat right next to them. 

“What’s the plan for when they wake up, Reggie?” 

“I figure we’ll let them play by the water more before heading back to that caravan.” Regis brushed hair out of Prompto’s face before checking on Noctis. Both boys were dreaming with small smiles. 

“Hmm.” Cid watched the rise and fall of Cindy’s chest as she lay against his. “I’m glad we went back to the city when we did. Wouldn’t o’ had things happen the way they did if we was still travelin’.”

“I’m glad too. I wouldn’t trade my sons for anything, even though our journey days were fun.” Regis suddenly felt very homesick for Insomnia. “At least the boys liked it out here, you know?” 

“Yeah.” The men looked up at the sky, children blissfully sleeping as they began to reminisce.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Royal Edition comes out this week. The next chapter won’t have spoilers yet, but I want to start working stuff in after I play it. Eee, can’t wait!!!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I haven’t worked anything from the Royal Pack in yet. I will be adding the boat next chapter (which isn’t too spoilery) and I can’t wait to reveal how it manifests in this AU!

“My friend Loqi said, the last time I had a play date with him, that sometimes spiders crawl in your mouth when you’re sleeping and then you swallow them and they poop lots and lots of spider eggs in you.” Ravus smiled when he saw three absolutely horrified faces. 

“Nuh-uh! You’re a big fat stupid liar doodoobrain!” Luna stuck her tongue out. “I don’t like Loqi anyway, he’s as stinky as you.” 

Prompto started crying. He hated scary gross bugs and sometimes they would go in his mouth?! While he was sleeping!!??! “N-Noct?? Is th-that truuueeee?” 

“No? Spiders don’t like people, we always squish them.” Right? “Let’s ask Daddy.” 

He left the Fleurets in his bedroom, and went to find where Regis had gotten to. Noctis found his father in his office with Sylva. They were both looking at something on her laptop. Ugh, boring work stuff. He had something more important than that. “Daddy, can spiders poop eggs in your face while you sleep?”

“What an atrocious idea. Who told you that?” Sylva asked, but she already knew the answer because she had started marching towards the door. Honestly, her son’s little friend was the worst influence...

Regis shook his head. “No, they don’t do that. That’s an extremely gross image, though. ...Where’s Prompto?” Usually the blond shadow was two steps behind his brother. Oh no. If Ravus was telling them frightening things then-!!!

Sure enough, when the older Caelums returned to the bedroom they found Prompto in Sylva’s arms. She was carding her fingers through his hair as he relayed the terrors he had learned. “-a-a-annndd he said tha-at the-eey m-make webs-s-s in in y-your no-s-se....” 

“And they can do tap dances with all their eight legs. Is that true, Mommy? No, right?” Luna had her hands on her hips. She had intercepted Prompto with a big hug to comfort him before he could follow Noctis out of the room. Unfortunately, Ravus kept telling his tales while Prompto was trapped in Luna’s arms. Noctis had missed all of the horror, it seemed. 

“No, spiders do not poop eggs in you, they can’t control your brain, they do not make webs in your nose, and they can’t tap dance. Ravus, why would you keep saying such things if you saw that they were upsetting your friend?” Sylva switched to rubbing Prompto’s back, and his sobs slowly died down. 

“I dunno. Sorry.” Ravus shrugged his shoulders. 

Noctis knew how to cheer his brother up. “Prom, where’s the rubber chocobo! We gotta show Luna and Ray-Ray!” 

Regis groaned. 

Prompto wiped his eyes and thought about it. “Isn’t it in our box?” 

“What’s a rubber chocobo?” Luna was very curious now. The children all went to the living room, and the adults retreated back to the office. “Trust me, Sylva, you don’t want to hear that thing.” Regis left the door cracked to block as much of the daemonic noise as possible. 

The cardboard box was very dinged up now, but the boys still refused to let Regis throw it away. Noctis pulled the noisy toy out of their favorite play spot. ‘Kweeeehhheeee’

Prompto sniffled, and wiped the last of his tears away. “It makes funny noises but I can’t make that noise with my mouth.” 

“Can I have a turn?” “No, me first, Ray-Ray!” “Stop!” 

The Fleurets looked at Noctis. “Here, Luna. You don’t tell us mean stories, so you go first.” Noctis stuck his tongue out at Ravus. That’d teach him to make Prompto cry. 

“Hmmph.” 

‘Kweh Kweh Kweeehhheeeehh’ 

“Okay, it’s my turn now!” Ravus went to snatch it. Luna tried to fend him off. “Stop, I wanna play with it! It’s my turn!” 

Prompto went to hide in the box. Why were his friends always fighting? He didn’t like it. At least Bow Chocobo was in here being nice and fluffy like always. He grabbed his doll and started sucking his thumb, trying to ignore the conflict outside the cardboard walls. 

Meanwhile, Noctis was trying to grab the rubber chocobo too. “Give it back! It’s not even yours!” The toy pathetically squeaked as it was pulled this way and that way and- 

‘Pop’

Noctis, Ravus, and Luna froze. Prompto peeked out of the box to see what that sound was. 

Luna and Noctis had the chocobo’s body. Ravus had the head. 

The moment of stunned silence ended. Prompto started sniffling again and Noctis stomped his foot, about to yell at Ravus. Luna put her hands on her hips. “I’m telling!”

“I can fix it, don’t tattle! Please don’t tattle!” Ravus snatched the body and frantically tried to reattach it to the head. ‘kweehheeeehheehehehee’ “I can’t get it in, hold on, just-“ 

Noctis wasn’t having it. He snatched the pieces out of Ravus’ grasp. “DADDY!!!” 

Regis came barreling in, a yell of that volume just screamed trouble and he prayed he got there in time. “Who’s hurt!?” 

“This!” Noctis thrust the broken toy in his father’s direction while glaring at Ravus. Prompto hugged his doll tighter, and hoped Daddy could fix the rubber chocobo. Luna was just waiting for Mommy to see what Ravus had done this time. 

Regis was thankful for this golden opportunity. He had been brainstorming this thing’s demise ever since they returned from their vacation. It had woken him up and distracted him from work many times. Now, it would finally be gone. “Oh. Oh no. I can’t fix this.” 

Sylva finally entered the room to find Regis comforting his upset sons, a decapitated chocobo laying on the floor, and her children arguing. She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Do I even want to know?”

-o-

Regis tucked his clean baby boys into bed. 

The Fleurets had gone home after Ravus apologized, and Regis had merrily thrown the evil noise toy away. He had felt bad that the boys were upset about it, but at least he’d never hear ‘Kweeeh’ at seven a.m. on a Saturday ever again. 

Noctis closed his eyes right away, but Prompto sat back up nervously. “Daddy, there are no spiders in here, right?” 

“No, and they don’t poop in your nose or whatever Ravus told you.” Regis ruffled his son’s hair. “Lay down, I’ll get the story.” Prompto snuggled closer to Noctis. 

The story didn’t help. He was still worried about the spiders. 

Noctis had been asleep for a while now, but Prompto just couldn’t relax. “Daddy, can you check?” 

“There’s nothing under the bed, or over the bed, or anywhere else.” Regis only checked the first two places he listed before sitting down on the edge of the bed and rubbing Prompto’s back. “Close your eyes, I’m right here.” 

Still apprehensive, Prompto squeezed his eyes shut. He had a thought. 

Spiders can’t get in if there’s a thumb in the way! Regis asked him to remove the finger, but Prompto explained his plan. “I won’t let the spiders get in because my thumb is there.” 

Regis sighed. If it would calm his son down, then he’d allow it for now. “Alright, close your eyes. It’s getting really late.” 

It took a full half hour before Prompto joined Noctis in dreamland. Regis kissed their heads and went to go to his own bed. 

==========================

Of all the nights to wake up and need the bathroom, Noctis chose this one. 

Oh course, this meant he woke Prompto and Regis up too. 

“Daddy. Pssst. Daddy. I need the potty.” He poked his father again. “Hmmgfflll, I’m coming... Hold on.” Regis sat up and took his son to the bathroom. While they were in there, they heard Prompto start crying. Before they could go back to him, he ran in to the bathroom to meet them. 

“Da-adddddyy, I j-just just j-ust-“ Prompto was stuttering from crying, and it was making him more upset that he couldn’t talk right. Regis knelt and put a hand on his shoulder. This small comfort made him pause, and it allowed him to continue conveying his fears. “ww-woke u-u-up and my my my thumb-b-b was-n’t in my moouuuttthhh!” 

Regis picked up his crying baby boy, confused about the significance of this information. “It’s good that you’re not sucking your thumb, why are you crying?”

“Bec-caus-ss-se now the sp-spiders can-n g-get iiiinnnn!!” Prompto really really hoped none had gotten in while he was sleeping. How was he supposed to defend himself while dreaming? 

Noctis, who had been washing his hands while his brother explained the dilemma, put his hands on his hips. “Let me see. I’ll check for the spiders.” 

Regis shook his head. “There’s no need. Prompto, wouldn’t you have tasted or felt the spider if it was in there now?” 

“Noooo, I w-waaasss sllleeeee-eeeepppiiinnngggggg!” Prompto opened his mouth for his family to check for the elusive arachnids. 

“There’s nothing there.” Regis carried his younger son back to his bed and gestured for his older son to follow. “How about this? Right now, we’ll sleep in my bed. If any spiders come, I’ll stop them. Okay?” 

“Yeah, I’ll squish them all, Prom! I can stop any stupid spider! Ooh, I mean stinky. Hehe. Sorry, Daddy.” Noctis didn’t want to get in trouble and get kicked off of guard duty because he said a bad word! He crawled up onto his father’s bed and patted the spot next to him. “Put Prompto here, and you lay on that side, Daddy.” 

Regis smirked. Noctis certainly knew how to command, telling his father where to lay on his own bed. “Noctis, can you move the blanket?” His son moved the thin fabric. Prompto was put next to his brother and Regis lay down next to him. “There, you’re in the middle. No spiders can go around us.” 

“B-but? What if they g-get Noct and you?” Prompto wasn’t entirely convinced that his family would be safe. 

“They won’t.” Noctis held up his arms. “I got muscles, and I can stop spiders. Good night, Prompto.” He lay down, happy about getting to sleep in Daddy’s bed and confident he could protect his brother. 

Regis also lay down, turned on his side to face his precious boys. “You’re safe here. Good night.” He was asleep as quickly as Noctis. 

Prompto lay there. Wait. How would they see any spiders with their eyes closed? He sat up, determined to guard his father and brother the way they always looked out for him. “I won’t let the spiders get us.” 

The bravery eventually gave way to fatigue, and Prompto couldn’t fight it any longer. He lay back down on the pillow in between his Noctis and Daddy. 

==========================

Noctis woke his brother up again when morning finally came. “Prompto, let’s go play!” 

The blond blearily opened his eyes. “I’m... still sleepy... Wait! Check for spiders!” He opened his mouth and Noctis opened his. Nothing hiding in either mouth. Phew. 

Regis opened his eyes. “Good morning, my sons.” Noctis demanded he open his mouth so they could check. “I’m spider-free.”

They got out of bed to get ready for the day, and Regis noticed Prompto wasn’t as peppy as usual. Noctis was his normal self, but Prompto... “You still look tired.” Regis put a hand on his son’s forehead. Hmm, no fever. Well, he did go to sleep late and wake up in the middle of the night. The little boy wasn’t used to missing this much sleep. 

“I had to make sure the spiders didn’t get us.” Prompto yawned. They went to go eat breakfast, and Noctis chatted with his brother without realizing that he was barely answering back. “And if we used the tonberry then we could make a whole store because he could be the register guy!” 

“Chocobo too.” 

“Yeah, and the box can be our car today instead of a house!” Noctis planned out their morning as Prompto groggily ate. 

Regis was left behind in the dining room as his sons went to go play. 

“Vroom, hey! Put your seatbelt on. Okay, here we go!” Noctis drove with his brother in the passenger seat of the ‘Regalia’. They made it to the store despite his crazy driving. Prompto lay down in the box when they arrived at the pretend store. “I wanna nap.” 

Whoa. Noctis paused his game. Prompto only whined or cried when there was something wrong. Okay, maybe that was a lot but at least Noctis knew when Prompto needed his help! And that declaration could definitely be counted as a whine, so he set to finding how to fix his brother’s problem. “Hey, usually I’m sleepy. What’s wrong?” 

“I’m just really sleepy cuz I was scared all night. But no spiders came so I think we stopped them. I just wa-ant to l-lay do-own.” Prompto didn’t know why he was even staring to cry now. Maybe it was because his head hurt. Why did his head hurt so much all of a sudden? Maybe because he was tired. Wait, he knew that already. Maybe he should just sleep. Yeah, that sounded good. 

Noctis nodded. “Go to sleep. There’s no spiders in our box either.” He rubbed his Prompto’s back and hummed a little song. The blond sighed contentedly as he wiped his eyes. He had the best big brother in the whole world. “Noct? I love you.” 

“I love you too. Go night night now.” He kept rubbing his brother’s back just like Daddy always did when they had trouble sleeping. “Prom? Are you still awake?” No answer. Noctis kissed Prompto’s cheek. 

Oh! Noctis had to tell Daddy that Prompto was sleeping now. 

Leaving baby brother in the box, Noctis went to go find his father. Right outside Regis’ office door sat the great eight-legged evil that had caused fear and stolen sleep. 

Eyebrows moved into an angry position, and a toddler’s size ten sneaker snuffed the evil out.


	16. Chapter 16

Regis moved a box aside. Where was it, where was it? “Ahah! Here we go... Ooh, dusty. Hope it’s still okay.” 

He pulled his keys out of his pocket and used one to cut the tape sealing the box. Lifting the flaps, he pulled the toy he was looking for out. “Hmm. This will need some restoring... Maybe Cid knows a guy.” 

-o-

“It’s my birthday today! I’m a big boy so I need cake, and kisses, and toys, and balloons, and-“

“Slow down, Noctis! I need to get you dressed first.” Monica had two very bouncy boys to get ready, and they weren’t making it easy. Prompto was singing at the top of his lungs as Noctis listed his birthday needs. “AND YOU ARE FOUR, MYYY NOOCT! I CAN COUNT TO FOUR, ONE TWO THREE FOUR JUST LIKE NOCT.... BIRTHDAY CAKE IS YUMMY-“ 

“My goodness, somebody’s excited today.” Regis poked his head in the door. The boys ran over, Noctis half dressed and Prompto still in his pajamas. “Daddy, Daddy!” “It’s my birthday!” 

“I know, and we’re going to have fun today. Now, I know present time usually isn’t until after cake. But today you’ll get your big present first so we can play with it all day.” 

“What is it!?” 

“I can’t tell you. Finish getting dressed and after breakfast you can open it.” Regis herded the boys back into their room so Monica could continue dressing them. He waved one last time before leaving to make sure everything was in the car. 

It was still hard to button Noctis’ jeans because he was wiggling with poorly contained excitement. Prompto danced around until it was his turn. “Come on what’s for breakfast let’s go go go!!” Noctis tore off when Prompto was dressed, and the younger brother ran to follow. “Wait for me!”

Weskham had the food all laid out already. “Happy birthday-“

“Thank you!” Noctis shoveled the waffles into his mouth, barely tasting them. He wanted to get to his gift already!

“Take smaller bites! Goodness, Noctis, what’s gotten into you?” Weskham shook his head as he took the plate to cut the food into smaller pieces. Now he just had to make sure the boy didn’t put thirteen pieces in at once! “Prompto, pass me your plate. I’ll cut yours up too. I should’ve done that in the kitchen.”

Regis joined them in the dining room. “I can’t forget to eat before we go, hahaha.” The father ate at a reasonable pace, there was no rush. They had the whole day. Of course, he needed to remind his sons of this fact. Weskham had to keep reminding both boys to eat ONE piece at a time, chewing all the way BEFORE swallowing. 

Prompto had managed to get syrup all over his cheeks. Regis took him to get cleaned up when they finished eating. Noctis watched impatiently. “All clean, let’s go get my present!” Regis chuckled and moved from cleaning Prompto’s face to cleaning Noct’s. “Hold on, my son.” 

“I’m clean already, Daddy!” Now all this waiting was starting to get ridiculous. He huffed. “Can I have my present. Pleeeeeaaaaassssee!” 

Regis nodded exasperatedly. “Alright, we’re going. Let’s open it in the garage.” Once more Prompto followed his brother as he ran ahead. 

All that he could see when he arrived was the Regalia, engine running and Cor inside. The chauffeur was fiddling with something, the radio maybe, but Noctis wasn’t looking for Cor so he didn’t care. “DaaaAAaaaddy! Wheeeerrrreee iiiis iiiiiittt?”

Regis guided both boys to their carseats, but he didn’t buckle them in yet. Prompto sat down, and Noctis crossed his arms. More waiting!? Regis opened the trunk and pulled out a wrapped box, carrying it back to where he had left his sons in the car. “Here. You may open it now, and then I’ll get you into the carseats.”

Finally!!! 

The four year old shredded the paper and opened the box’s lid. Inside sat a decently sized toy boat and a handheld remote control device. Noctis tried lifting the vessel, but it was heavier than it looked. Regis helped him. “This was mine when I was young. I had it fixed up, changed the mythril batteries... It should sail smoothly again.” 

“Can I hold it while we drive?” Noctis reached for his new toy as his father secured him in his carseat. “Hmm... You can hold the remote, the boat itself is too big.” 

He passed over the device and then put Prompto in his seat. “Wow, Noct, a cool boat! Boats float on water, right, Daddy?” This looked just like the little boat they used at bath time. 

“Yes, they float on water.”

“Where is the water?” They were leaving home, so they couldn’t put this new boat in the bathtub. Cor answered. “There’s a small man-made canal a few miles from here.”

Regis nodded. “Yes, we can sail the boat there.”

-o-

The canal was super pretty, there were trees all around and leaves would occasionally flutter down. Of course, the boys didn’t notice all the scenery. 

The boat was switched on and placed in the water. Regis showed Noctis how to turn on the remote. Prompto giggled as it started sailing away, his brother was making it go in circles as he fiddled with the controls. “Stand here, and turn towards me for one second.”

The boys dragged their eyes away from the boat and faced their father. “Smile!” 

He took their picture with his phone. “Ooh, can I-“ 

“Here you go. Just don’t drop it in the water.” Regis handed the phone over to his photographer before he could finish asking. Noctis had already turned back to sail his boat. It sped through the water, and he continued turning the vessel in different directions. 

Photo after photo was taken of the boat, the water, and each of the Caelums. “Do a silly dance!” Noctis posed with the remote, and Regis held his arms up. Prompto captured the goofy scene before taking a selfie. He spotted a leaf in the water, and decided that it was picture-worthy. Ooh, and the boat was coming closer again! He snapped another one of the toy. 

“Let me see your pict- Ah! You’re sailing it too close to the land!” 

The boat crashed onto the canal’s shore, so Regis went to move it back into the water. “Try making it go that way.” 

Noctis eventually got bored just going in circles and avoiding ramming into the edge. The canal wasn’t much of an obstacle course. “Here, Prom, you take a turn.” 

“Oh! Thank you Noct! Here, Daddy, here’s your phone.” Prompto held the remote control and only pushed the direction stick up. The boat sped away from them. “How do I bring it back?” 

Noctis snatched the controller back to turn the boat around. Regis asked him to give it back to his brother. “Don’t tell Prompto he can have a turn and then take it back from him.” 

“Oh. Sorry. Here.” 

Prompto managed to beach the vessel too. “I can’t do it right.” 

Regis took the boat out of the water. “It was your first try, you both just need more practice. How about we put this in the car and go for lunch?” 

“Can we have Crow’s Nest!?” Noctis jumped up and down, and Prompto gasped. He joined the pleading, even though it was unnecessary. The birthday boy would get his wish anyway. “Please, Daddy, please?” 

“We can eat there. Let’s go.” 

-o-

Cor made silly faces to keep them entertained as they waited for Regis to bring the tray of food over. 

When they had returned to the car, Prompto had asked why Cor wasn’t celebrating Noct’s birthday with them. The chauffeur had said that if Noctis wanted him to join he would, but he was okay with just driving the family around as needed. Noctis all but demanded that he eat lunch with them. 

Regis had shrugged. 

If the boys wanted him there then he didn’t mind, even though he had planned for it to be a family day with just the three of them. Well... when it came to Cor... 

The man was practically family. He’d been Regis’ friend for a long time before he became a father. Why, the man had driven him to the hospital while his wife was giving birth! (Regis remembered that frantic trip fondly, even though Cid had chewed him out for the state the Regalia was left in afterwards.) To be fair, all of the people who he had working in the house were practically family. He’d known Weskham for so long, and Monica was always there when he needed her. They all loved his sons, and the boys loved them too. 

Regis was waiting in line for the food for a while, and Cor was running out of silly expressions. There were only so many ways he could contort his face. 

Prompto giggled as Cor puffed his cheeks. Noctis copied him. “Wook, Pwommo, Oo’m Cwow!”

“Haha! You do look like Cor!” The blond puffed his cheeks too, and Cor reached across the table to playfully grab their cheeks, one boy’s face in each of his hands. “I don’t look like that!” 

The children squealed with laughter as they escaped Cor’s grasp. “You can’t catch me!” “That tickled!” 

“Stick your tongue out, Cor, wike dis bleeeehhh!” “Noct, you look silly!”

“Like this? Bleheheh?” Cor waggled his tongue and crossed his eyes. 

“Who’s hungry?” 

Finally! The food was here!!

Regis arrived and put the tray down on the table before humming thoughtfully. His sons were sitting on one side of the booth, and Cor was across from them. But if he separated them, then Noctis couldn’t sneak his lettuce to Prompto... 

The father moved his younger son to the spot next to Cor before sliding into the booth next to his eldest boy. He gently rushed them to start eating, because this restaurant was one of those establishments that had the staff perform a little song for birthday patrons. That had added to the time he was at the register. He wanted them to get actual food in their bellies before the staff brought the surprise over. 

Noctis tried to lean across the table to give his burger’s vegetables to Prompto. The blond was about to happily accept the offering when Regis cleared his throat. Noctis groaned. “Awww, come on! I don’t like these! Do I have to eat it on my birthday?” 

Cor pointed to his arm before Regis could answer. “What’s this?” He flexed. 

Prompto stood on the booth seat to poke the arm. “Cor, that’s your arm! I have arms too, and Noct, and Daddy!” 

Noctis held up his own to prove his brother’s point. Cor explained. “Yes, it’s my arm, but do you see the muscles?” 

Noctis nodded. “Yeah, you need muscles to be big and strong and healthy.” Regis poked his son. “If you want big, strong muscles like Cor’s and mine then you need to eat.” 

“Uugggghhhh.” The lettuce and tomato were angrily chewed and swallowed. 

“Yay! You did it! Look, I’m going to get big muscle arms too!” Prompto ate his food a lot more jovially than Noctis. When he finished he held up his arms. “Look! The muscles are getting bigger right now!” 

“It takes some time, my son. That’s why you have to eat vegetables every day.” Regis rolled his eyes at Noctis’ groan. “Every day!?”

There was an interruption before the vegetables could cause any more grief. 

“Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, to our very special guest! Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, thanks for coming to the Crow’s Nest! Caw, Kids!!” Two of the cooks brought over milkshakes with sprinkles on top. 

Noctis blushed, everyone in the restaurant started clapping once they saw that the recipient of the song was a little boy. Prompto covered his ears, it was so loud now. “How did they know Noct is a birthday boy today?” 

Cor tapped his hands, asking him to uncover his ears so he could hear the answer. Noctis hid from the staff behind his father as Regis explained. “I told them. What do we say for the milkshakes, my sons?” 

“Thank you!” The children stopped trying to hide from the attention. 

Both boys smiled as the birthday cake milkshakes were passed over. The cooks went back to the kitchen and all the other patrons went back to ignoring each other. The moment of solidarity had passed. 

Regis took too long to hand them the straws, and Noctis just stuck his mouth on the edge of the glass to drink. Prompto imitated his big brother a little too enthusiastically, and ended up getting a whip cream all over his nose. 

Of course, this made Noctis laugh when he noticed. He sprayed some of his treat across the table as he guffawed. Regis hurried for napkins to clean up the mess and Cor just shook his head. When his friend returned with two handfuls of napkins he took one to help. 

“Prompto, look at me.” Cor cleaned his face as Regis mopped at the tablespace in front of Noctis. “Here, use the straws please.” 

Noctis took the offered tool and put it into his milkshake. Mm, it was so good! Today had turned out awesome, and it wasn’t even halfway over. He couldn’t wait to get home for cake and the rest of his presents. 

Prompto stopped sipping his milkshake. “Noct? Can I use the boat again? Please?” 

“Yeah. Daddy, can we sail again before we go home?” Both boys looked at their father, who nodded. “Yes, if that’s what you want to do. We can go back to the canal before we go home.” They had the whole afternoon, it was only twelve thirty. 

“Noct? I love your birthday.” 

“Me too, Prom.” 

Conversation died down so they could finish their milkshakes. They couldn’t wait to continue their nautical adventure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I stopped there because I figured no one wanted to read a hundred more words of ‘the boat sailed on the water and they had fun’. There’s only so many ways you can describe the operation of a toy before you get redundant...
> 
> Anyway, please let me know what you thought with a comment! Have a super awesome week, see you next update XD


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first half of this is the memory discussed in Daycare Days chapter 36. I did this to better connect the timelines, and because I am happy that I managed to match where they were growth-wise! The second half is the untold portion and the beginning of poor Chocobo’s demise.

"DADDY! HELP! Stay back, Prom! I won't let it bite you!" Noctis went to stomp on the vile beast threatening his baby brother.

"N-n-oooo-ooccc-ttt! It's-s m-moooovvin-nnng clo-clos-seeerrr! Whaaaa-aaaa-aaaahh!" Prompto stood there crying and watching Noctis try to get rid off the spider.  
It was indeed crawling towards them. Noctis smashed his foot down but he missed. The arachnid decided to go the other way. Regis entered their bedroom, a bit out of breath. "What's wrong!?"

Noctis pointed at the escaping bug. "That spider is bothering us! Help!" Regis grabbed a tissue and put it next to the spider. It crawled onto the paper and Regis scooped it up to put outside. When he came back he found Prompto sucking his thumb and Noctis hugging him. "Did it bite you?"

"No, Daddy. That was just a yucky bug and I hated it lots and lots." Noctis stuck his tongue out.  
Regis smiled. "I'm glad you're both okay. You don't need to be upset now." Regis put a hand on each child's head. Prompto took out his thumb. "Daddy? I don't like bugs."

"I know, Prompto. Come. The electrician will be here after breakfast, and Monica said she was going to bring new books with her today. Would you boys like to read those while I help the electrician in the living room? Your nanny should be here soon." Regis lifted both children and carried them to the dining room.

After breakfast the boys went with Regis to the living room. They were playing with their chocobo plush, taking turns pretending to ride it. When Monica arrived they sat with her to check out the new books she had promised. "Do you want to read the shapes one or the color one first?"

Noctis held up the book that was covered in different shapes. "This one, this one!"

Regis pocketed his phone when the doorbell rang. "Oh, there's the electrician. Monica, would you mind taking them to their room? They probably can't be in here while the new lights are being installed."

"Okay, boys, let's move all this to the room." Monica gathered the books and carried them to the shared bedroom, two tiny males trailing behind her. They were about to start reading again when Prompto realized he had left the chocobo plush in the living room. "Noct. Chocobo is in the living room."

Monica held the book open, but didn't read anything aloud yet. "Go on, Prompto, grab it. I'll wait to start the story."

The blond darted back to the living room, scanned the floor, ah! There it is. Prompto was picking it up when Regis walked into the room again with the electrician. He had been showing her the fuse box so she could turn off what she needed. She had worked her magic already, but oblivious Regis didn't realize. "Okay, and this room is connected to the same switch, so would we have to turn off two or..."

"Oh no, Mr. Caelum, I already turned off the power for the entire house. It's safer that way. I guess you didn't realize because it's so sunny and all your lights are off, haha. Oh? Who's this cutie?" Holly noticed the little boy half hidden behind the couch, clutching a chocobo doll and watching her warily.

"Prompto, what are you doing back there? Come, let's go back to your room. Where's Noctis?" Regis gestured for Prompto to come out from his 'hiding' spot. 

As he emerged Holly knelt in front of the boy. "Hi, sweetie, I'm Holly. I'm going to be working in here, okay?"

Prompto stuck his thumb in his mouth as tears started falling. This lady was a stranger, and she was too close and her voice was loud, and he was kind of trapped because she was blocking the way to Daddy. "Ah! Don't cry! I'm not going to hurt you!" Holly held her hands up to show she meant no harm.

Regis moved to pick his son up. "Prompto, it's okay, she's going to put the new lights in. Remember? We talked about this." The blond just shook his head as Holly stepped closer to see if he was okay.

Noctis chose then to appear. 

"Prom!? Where are you? Monica is telling me to wait but you were gone for too long!" He saw Prompto crying despite Regis trying to comfort him. "Prompto! Daddy, why is he crying? Did this lady hurt him!?" Noctis glared at the new person in his house. She just smiled and said hello. "Oh, you have two boys? How sweet!"

"No, Noctis, Prompto's not hurt. But he won't tell me what's wrong. My son, why won't you tell me?" Regis gently tapped Prompto's wrist, nonverbally asking him to remove the thumb from his mouth. The little boy just used his other hand to point at Noctis, waving the chocobo doll in his general direction. He tried to wiggle out of Regis' arms, and the father knelt so he could put Prompto down. He knew Noctis would be able to coax an answer out of the blond.

"Prom, why are you sad?" Noctis grabbed Prompto's arm to lead him out of the room. He was still clutching the chocobo plush. The upset child waited to pull out his thumb once he couldn't see Holly anymore. "That lady is scary."

"She didn't look scary to me... Just loud. We can be loud too, so then she can be scared instead of you. Let's go roar, Prom. That'll scare her!" Noctis smirked deviously.  
"But Noct, I-" Prompto hurried to catch up as Noctis ran back to hide next to the living room doorway. He tripped and dropped the chocobo. Prompto got back up and stood next to his giggling brother.

"Ready? Onetwothree GO!" Noctis datrted out and into the living room. "RAAAWWWR!" Prompto peeked his head in as Noctis roared. "rawr..."

Holly had looked up when she heard Noctis barge in, but she wasn't scared. No, she had started chuckling. She lost it at Prompto's tiny mimicking of the older boy. 

Regis put a hand to his forehead before moving to usher the boys back to their room. "My apologies, I'll find something to occupy them and then I'll come back to help."  
"Hahahaha, don't apologize. They're adorable, haha. Oh, and please don't worry about me. I can get this done quickly, you don't need to help. Thank you though." 

Holly didn't want to be rude, but Regis' 'helping' consisted of questions about every step of the job she had come to do. She hadn't even started removing the old light fixture to put in the new one yet.

"Okay. Come, my sons, let's let Holly do her job." Regis lifted both boys. Prompto snuggled against his father while Noctis glared over Regis' shoulder. He was a bit upset that Holly didn't get scared. His perfect revenge had been ruined.

The Caelums ran into Monica in the hall. "I was just coming to get you two, it was taking awfully long to fetch that toy." Safely deposited in their room, Regis planted a kiss on each child's head. "I'm going to see if lunch is ready. I'll be right back."

It was ready, so he trudged back to their room, stepping over the doll in the hall. He was used to toys being left in random places, and he had developed the parental talent of not-tripping-on-messes. "Boys, please pick up the chocobo doll and wash up for lunch."

"Lunch!? Come on, Prom, let's eat!" Noctis ran to the sink, Prompto not far behind. They completely forgot about the first half of Regis' request.

As the boys ate Regis had tried to offer Holly some food. He felt that if someone came into his house then he needed to feed them. The electrician politely declined. Twice. Really, she was okay.

Noctis marched back to the bedroom. "I want to nap." Prompto climbed onto the bed and waited for Noct to join. He was busy taking his shoes off, so Prompto sat on the edge of the bed and tried to get his shoes off too. "Help. It's not working!" Monica opened the laces so Prompto could take off his sneakers. Noctis climbed up as the blond freed his feet. "Please can we use the coeurl blanket? It's soft." 

Monica covered them with the requested blanket, the one with cartoon thunder kitties lounging across the fabric. The older boy drifted to dreamland immediately. The youngest lay there in his brother's arms as he slowly fell asleep.

Regis had gone to do work in his office, peeking in on his children and the electrician every fifteen minutes. Holly was finished when he checked the third time. She turned the house's power back on to test the light. It worked! She cleaned up her tools and put them in her truck. She came back to have Regis sign off that she was done. "May I use your bathroom?"

"Of course. It's down the hall." Regis stood in the room examining the new light fixture as she walked off. It really looked nice. Like, he should've had this done ages ago, the room was a lot brighter even though it was one of those energy saving bulbs, and-

"A-AH!" Regis turned when he heard Holly scream seconds before a loud thump echoed. Holly cursed as Regis rushed into the hall. He saw the electrician and the chocobo doll on the floor. The toy was smooshed into a crumpled pile and dirty from Holly's work boots.  
"Are you alright!?" Regis offered a hand to help her up.

"I'm okay, I just stepped on this- Oh no. I am so sorry, I've ruined it, ah! My back! Ooh, that's painful!" Holly tried to stand up on her own, grabbing the squished toy as she plopped back into a sitting position.

Of course, the boys emerged from their room at this exact moment. They had woken up from their nap due to Holly's scream. Noctis gasped. "Our chocobo!" Prompto hid behind his brother after Noctis stormed over to confront the toy-destroying, Prompto-scaring home invader.

Regis cut off the anger before it could be expressed. "Noctis Lucis Caelum. Look at me." Both boys and Holly turned to listen. "I asked you to pick this up earlier. Please apologize to Holly, she tripped and got hurt because of it."

Prompto blurted out an apology, remembering that he had dropped the doll. "Sorry! I didn't mean to! I tripped and it fell! Sorry!" He ran over to hug Holly. He didn't want her to be hurt, even though she was loud and unfamiliar.

Holly patted his back as he clung to her. "It's okay, I should've been watching where I was going. And I'm sorry too. I didn't want to mess up your doll." Prompto let go, and accepted the crumpled chocobo. He handed it to Noct. Big brother could fix anything! And if he couldn't, then Daddy could! Right?  
Noctis tried squishing the fabric and filling back into its original shape. It was lopsided and still dirty, so he handed it to his father. 

Regis took it. "We can wash it. It will be okay then."

Holly stood up. "Oh, that's a cramp. Ooh. I should probably go to a doctor." Regis cringed as she limped out of the house. "Send me the bill for your medical examination. It's the least I could do..."

The electrician laughed. THE Regis Lucis Caelum paying for her doctor visit? Well... Maybe she should take him up on the offer. Gil obviously wasn't an issue for him, he had a nice house and his company was very successful... No. She would just get workman's compensation to cover the bill. EXINERIS had good insurance too. "No, I can't accept your gil. I ruined your sons' toy, after all. Haha, let's call it even!"

She drove off.

Regis took his sons inside so they could wash their toy.

-o-

“And you pour in a capful of detergent, like this, and then you close the lid.” 

“That will make it all clean, right?” Prompto hoped his doll would be okay after its ‘bath’. Noctis grabbed his brother’s arm. “Chocobo will be okay. Daddy knows how to fix it. Come on, let’s go play now.”

“Okay...” 

Prompto had planned on standing there and waiting for his toy to be washed, but Noctis pulled him along. “Let’s just use Bow Chocobo.” 

“But if we take him out of the box then he’ll see that his brother is missing and then he’ll get sad.” They stopped in front of their cardboard box, at a loss for what to do. They couldn’t let the toy see that its partner in crime was gone. But now they had no chocobos to play with...

Monica, who had been tidying up their room a bit before heading out for the day, found them. She put her purse down on the floor, knelt, and held up her arms for a goodbye hug. She noticed the long faces. “What’s wrong?”

“Chocobo is getting clean because he’s all messed up now.” Noctis answered for Prompto, who just stuck his thumb in his mouth. Monica sighed. “Oh dear. Come here, it’s not all bad.” 

They trudged over so Monica could scoop them into her arms. She re-adjusted herself on the floor so they could sit on her lap. Noctis explained the dilemma, Prompto nodding to confirm. Monica smiled softly. “Why don’t you draw a picture while you wait? Then you can show both chocobos when it is time?” The nanny saw no need to squish their imaginations by telling them that the doll wouldn’t really care if the other was missing. 

“But I can’t draw.” The thumb came out so Prompto could express himself. “My black crayon is too small now so I can’t draw anymore.” 

“You have other colors besides black...” Monica tried to reason with him. 

“But my family has black hair. Only I have yellow hair, I can’t use the yellow crayon for Noct.” How was he supposed to draw Noct and Daddy without the black crayon? He needed that color, it was his favorite and he couldn’t draw Noct with any other crayon. The little boy pointed at his brother’s head, hoping to make the nanny understand the importance of that particular crayon. “Look, Monica, see? Noct’s hair is black.” 

“I know what color his hair is. I’ve known Noctis his whole life.” Monica shook her head. Obviously she knew this basic information about her charge. Okay, so the drawing was a no go. The blond was too upset and it was making him a bit unreasonable. “Well, what else could you do instead of using Bow Chocobo?” 

“I want to watch tv.” Noctis had been pondering other activities while his brother discussed crayons. 

“Well, let’s ask your father before I just turn it on for you.” Monica looked at the time. She really needed to go now, this little fiasco had made her late for dinner with her mother. It seemed irresponsible to just turn on the television and leave though. 

They found Regis in his office. “Oh, Monica, I’m sorry! I just realized today was the day you needed to leave early!” He had let his sons run off to play so he could get ahead on some paperwork, completely forgetting that the nanny had requested to leave early today. “Come, my sons, let’s do something together. All this work can wait.” 

“Can we watch the tv?” Noctis pulled out the puppy dog eyes as Monica left. 

“Which show do you want to watch? Prompto, thumb out.” Regis followed his baby boys to the living room. They climbed onto the couch as he found the remote. Before the Prompto could ask for the show with the funny ducks, the television started speaking about ninjas. 

Regis went to change the channel, but it was too late. “Look at that sword!” Noctis stood on the couch. “I wanna watch this! Please?” 

“I don’t know... Just for a little while. Please sit down properly.” Regis wasn’t sure how graphic it would be. Right now it wasn’t showing any blood, so he left it on. It was talking about stealth, and eventually it switched topics. Prompto watched as the show talked about throwing stars. “Daddy, what’s ‘aim’?” 

“The show is talking about how the ninjas had incredible aim. That just means they can always hit their target when they throw something.” 

“Wow!” Prompto grabbed one of the throw pillows. “Can I throw this and get aim?” 

“You want to practice your aim? Haha, what’s your target?” Regis chuckled, easily seeing how his son would misunderstand the point of a throw pillow. Noctis jumped up. “Throw it at me, I’ll block it with my sword!” 

He held up his arm like it was a blade. The pillow flew, and he smacked it before it could hit his face. Regis stood up. “Instead of throwing pillows, let’s try something else.” He didn’t want anybody to get hit in the face, Prompto’s aim was more accurate than he thought it would be and Noctis was flailing around rather aggressively. He seemed to really think he had a sword. 

The television was turned off so they could have ninja training. 

-o-

Regis had set up a few cups and crumpled some paper into balls for them to practice throwing. They were in his office, seeing as that was where he had some blank copier paper. 

Prompto had been getting almost every throw in the cup when he remembered he had been waiting for his doll. “Daddy? Is Chocobo clean now?” 

“Oh! I forgot to put him in the dryer! Keep playing, I’ll be right back.” 

Noctis threw a paper ball at his father’s retreating back. “Sneaky ninja!” His brother giggled. “The television said ninjas are good at hiding. Hmm.” He looked around. There was no where to hide in Daddy’s office...

So the boys took that to mean ‘let’s hide the paper balls’. 

They shoved one under the desk. One paper ball made it onto the shelf. Prompto hid two behind the curtains, and Noctis placed a few on the office chair. They were in the middle of putting some behind the phone when Regis returned. “What are you doing?” 

“Hiding stuff like ninjas!” “Yeah, we put one over-“ “Shh! You can’t tell, Prompto.” “Ooh, sorry!” 

They watched, laughing, as Regis went through the office to find the hidden papers. “You boys are crazy.” 

“Hahahahahaha!” 

-o-

It was bedtime when Chocobo was finally returned. 

The father had forgotten the doll in the dryer, and Regis only retrieved it because Prompto asked during bathtime. The doll’s exterior was matted now, and nowhere near as fluffy and comforting as it had been before the harrowing adventure of today. But it didn’t matter to the little boy; it was his Chocobo, soft and fuzzy or not. 

Noctis noticed something as his brother hugged the beloved toy. 

“What’s this?” He pulled some stuffing off of the doll. Regis realized what it was and began looking for the hole it must have come out of. 

Oh. 

Oh no. 

That was a pretty big rip in the seam... 

“Chocobo has a boo boo...” Prompto hugged the doll tighter as Regis tried to take it. “Can he have a bandage, please?” 

“I just need to put the fluff back in, I’ll give it right back.” He waited for his son to relinquish his grasp. Noctis peered at the hole. “Can I stick my hand in?” 

Regis shook his head, trying to think of a way to fix the doll. Did he know anybody that could sew? Not off the top of his head, but surely somebody had some experience with a needle and thread... “No, that will make the hole bigger. I’m going to have to take the doll, if you sleep with it all the stuffing will come out.” 

“oh.” Prompto had waited all afternoon for his toy and now it was broken and he couldn’t have it? Noctis saw the tears welling. “Daddy, he needs Chocobo to sleep.” 

“But... It needs to be fixed.... Alright. Whatever fluff comes out can just be put back in, I suppose. Here.” Regis returned the doll and tucked his sons in. 

“thank you...” Prompto sniffled and tried not to squeeze to hard. He didn’t want the stuffing to come out! 

“Daddy? What’s inside of us? Do we have stuffing like that?” Noctis was already falling asleep despite his inquiry. Regis chuckled. “No, we don’t. We have organs and blood, not polyester fiber filling.” 

Prompto asked what that was, and the resulting explanation ended up replacing the bedtime story. Only the younger brother was awake for it anyway, although he was drifting to sleep too. “So there’s poly-ster... pooly-stuff in all the toys?”

“Just the soft ones. Goodnight.” Regis gave out goodnight kisses even though it wouldn’t be reciprocated. He took one last look at his baby boys and the ruined doll before heading to bed himself. “Maybe someone knows how to patch it? There’s always fabric glue...” 

The contemplation of crafting materials continued until he conked out too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How long should I have the doll leak fluff before Regis gets rid of it? He’s still plotting ways to get that cardboard box out too... 
> 
> (It needs to go. It’s so beat up now.)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I updated at midnight, put the new chapter in the wrong spot, and went to bed, and THIRTY people already saw it like that!?!? Sorry guys!!! I fixed it now, hopefully everyone who tried to read the new chapter found it. <(@~@)/

Regis called Sylva the day after Chocobo’s destruction to see if she knew anything about sewing. 

She hadn’t sewn in years, but she was willing to try to help her dear friend’s distraught child. The Caelums had shown up with the doll, and she had set to work. Patiently, she taught Regis what to do if the doll ripped again while their children played together. 

The fixed doll had returned home, Prompto happier than ever! 

But the very same night, Noctis discovered a large chunk of loose polyester filling that they hadn’t taken with them to the Fleurets’. Regis spirited the doll away after they fell asleep, confident that he could solve the problem. All he had to do was snip a tiny bit open and re-stuff the toy, sew up the incision just like Sylva had shown him, and then ta-da! It would be the same as before!!

Picking a different spot to open the toy, Regis followed all the right steps until he got to the end. He didn’t secure the knot properly. The inexperienced tailor had also used the rather thin spare thread that had come with one of his dress shirts. (He had so many of those little baggies with thread and buttons that he could’ve claimed it was a collection!) The shoddy seam work didn’t survive a day, and Chocobo lost his guts all over again. 

They shoved the stuffing back in so many times over the next two weeks that the bird wasn’t exactly bird-shaped anymore. The disfigured doll was still loved though, and so it continued to travel the house. 

-o-

“Prompto, wake up! You’re four today, Daddy said yesterday that today is your birthday so come on!” Noctis poked his brother’s cheeks. “Prompto, get up already!” 

A long whine escaped Prompto as he reluctantly joined the land of consciousness. He lay there for a second before speaking. “N-Noct? My tummy hurts. Look.” He lifted his shirt so his brother could see what he was talking about. 

“I see your tummy. But it can’t hurt? It’s your birthday!” 

“Oh! Yay!” Prompto sat up. “Ow. I’m four today, just like you!” He grew excited despite the storm in his stomach. “I can’t wait to have fun today!” 

Noctis grabbed Chocobo. Or, what was left of him. The older brother made a funny voice. “Let’s go get Daddy! Here.” 

Prompto accepted the doll and followed Noctis very slowly. He felt like that really gross stuff, vomit, wanted to come out. “I want to lay down.” So he did, right in the hallway. 

“Get up, haha, what are you doing? Oh, you lost more stuffing.” Noctis danced around his brother to gather the lost fluff. Prompto put it back in and rolled onto his side. “My tummy gets mad when I walk. But I want to have my birthday...” 

“I’ll go get Daddy. Feel better okay?” Noctis kissed Prompto’s head before going to retrieve his father. The blond lay there. “Happy Birthday, happy~” He wished his stomach would be as happy as he was. Today was supposed to be a good day, they were going to have fun just like on Noct’s birthday! Right? 

“-and he didn’t fall but he won’t get up, Daddy. See? His tummy really is bad just like I said.” The eldest son had returned with their father. Regis knelt to pick the boy up off of the floor. “Prompto, what’s wrong?” 

The ill four year old leaned on the warm, supporting shoulder of his parent. “I feel like... there’s grumpy stuff in my tummy. But I’m not grumpy. I just want to have my birthday. Can I?” 

“It’s still your birthday, even if you’re sick.” Regis frowned. How was his son supposed to enjoy his birthday properly with a stomachache? “Come, let’s go to the bathroom, brush our teeth, and then we’ll see how you feel.” 

“Daddy, if Prompto’s sick can he eat cake? Oh no! He NEEDS cake today!” Noctis wiped, and washed his hands as the concern about the confection popped into his head. 

Prompto had a mouthful of toothpaste, but still tried to talk around the toothbrush that his father was helping him use. “Ah fweel gooo no. Ah cun hab cwahk!”

“I doubt your stomach pain magically vanished just now. You can have a little cake later in the day, after you’ve had time to rest.” Regis decided then and there to push their outing to tomorrow, hopefully Prompto would feel better then. 

It wouldn’t be hard to get another day out of the office. He had only been planning to take them to a movie anyway, that was an activity that could be pushed back. It was a new animated children’s film about the unlikely friendship between a cactuar and a chocobo. The movie had just started running in theaters two days ago, so they still had time. Regis had decided against taking them to the premiere because the theater was bound to be packed. 

Finishing in the bathroom, they grabbed Chocobo (carefully to prevent more fluff loss) and went to the dining room. Weskham had gone overboard for breakfast again, as he usually did for special occasions. Prompto looked at the food. “I’m not hungry... but it looks so yummy.”

“We can ask Wes for some toast. That should be gentle on your stomach.” Regis put his son on his seat and went to inform the chef of the situation. Noctis began eating, his tummy felt fine. When Weskham and Regis exited the kitchen they found Prompto licking syrup off of a piece of pancake. 

“Hey lad, I hear you’re not feeling-what are you doing?” Weskham set the toast in front of the birthday boy. “Haha, can’t resist my cooking?” 

“It tastes good but my tummy doesn’t want to eat. Look.” He lifted his shirt again so they could see that he had a problem. Weskham shook his head. “I can’t see what’s going on inside your stomach.” 

Regis moved forward to pull the shirt down. “Try to eat a little bit, okay?” 

“Yes, Daddy. Wes, thank you for the toast.” He took one bite. “Eugh. I’m full.” 

“Please try another bite?” Regis gently coaxed, but it was in vain. “I can’t, Daddy. I’m sorry.” Prompto knew the food was good for him, but the thought of eating more made him sick. He wondered briefly if this was how Noctis felt when he had to eat vegetables. 

“Okay, we won’t push it. I don’t want you to throw up.”

“Hmm. Regis, I’ll go prepare some soup and tea for him. I think he should lay down now.” Weskham took Noctis’ cleared plate back to the kitchen. Hopefully liquids would help and they could get something of substance into the boy. 

Regis carried Prompto to the sofa, Noctis close behind. “Let me hold him.”

“He has to lay down. Would you both like to watch cartoons?” That was the least strenuous activity that Regis could think of. Prompto needed to rest, and Noctis would definitely stay close by all day. 

This would keep them both occupied for a little while. He needed to call Cor to let him know about the change of plans. Oh, chocobo turds... The man was probably already on his way here. Hopefully he wouldn’t mind having to go back home, and then having to come back tomorrow instead. Regis went to lower the blond onto the couch, but Prompto clung on. “My tummy feels better when you hold me, Daddy.”

“Prompto, I can hold you! I’ll sit really still so you can lay on me. I can do it so pass him here to me, Daddy.” Noctis has clambered onto the sofa and plopped down. He impatiently patted his lap. “I can make you feel better.” 

“Okay.” Prompto let go of Regis’ shirt so he could lay on the sofa with his head in Noct’s lap. Big brother was the best pillow ever, and Prompto put his thumb in his mouth. Noctis kept his promise and sat very still. 

Regis let the thumb sucking slide for now. He set up the television and went to the hallway to call Cor’s cell phone. “Hey, we have a tiny problem.” He explained the birthday complication and his plans to move the outing. The chauffeur expressed condolences, feeling bad for the birthday boy. Of all the days to get a stomachache... “Okay. Do you want me to hold the gift I got him or should I bring it today?” 

“That’s up to you, Cor. How close are you, anyway? Sorry about the last minute call.” Regis moved further down the hallway, the television was singing now and he couldn’t hear the phone. 

“Uh, I’m halfway there. I’ll just bring it today.” Cor hung up, and Regis debated telling his son that a present was on the way. He decided to leave it as a surprise when he peeked into the room and saw that Prompto was still laying on Noctis’ lap. The episode was half over, and neither boy had moved even though Regis had heard them laughing while he was on the phone. 

“Look out, Regis.” Weskham was carrying a tray with a mug of tea, a sippy cup of juice, and a bottle of water. “We’ll get him to drink something.” 

“Wow, Weskham, he’ll be in and out of the bathroom all day, haha. Hold on, let them finish their episode.” Regis took the tray, and Weskham went back to the kitchen. He had to get back to the soup he had started. 

Back in the living room, Prompto tried to sit up. Noctis gently put his hand on his brother’s head to halt the movement. “Lay back down. You need to rest.” 

“But Noct, I want the blanket.” He pointed to the throw blanket that was folded and laying on the sofa’s arm. “I have to get up to get it. I’ll come right back.” 

“No, you’re supposed to be resting. You can’t feel better if you’re moving. Lay down, I’ll get it.” He shoved Prompto’s head back onto his lap, careful not to push hard while still conveying that he meant it. Daddy had said Prompto was supposed to stay laying down, so he was going to do just that and nothing else. 

Noctis reached for the blanket, stopping when he felt Prompto trying to adjust to accommodate the older boy’s movement. Noctis then realized he couldn’t move because then that would make Prompto have to move too. How was he supposed to keep his brother still and fulfill his request? This was quite the puzzle. “Hold on, I can’t reach.”

Prompto went to sit up again to just grab the blanket, stopping obediently when he felt Noctis’ hand return to his head. “I can do it, lay back down.” The older boy stretched as much as he could with one arm, trying not to jostle his brother. Prompto paid attention to the show again, forgetting all about the desired item as his father walked back in the room. He had a tray, and he was putting it on the floor. “Prompto, I need you to sit up and drink something.” 

“But you told me to stay laying down and Noct helped me stay still. My tummy doesn’t want tea.” Prompto remembered what that mug was for. He had seen Monica drinking from a mug like that once, and she had let the boys taste some. She had called it green tea, but she should have called it gross tea. Prompto never wanted to taste that yucky stuff again. 

“You could move a little bit, you didn’t have to stay as still as a statue.” Regis noticed that Prompto’s head was still held in place by Noctis’ hand resting on it, his other arm outstretched. “Here.” Regis maneuvered his sons so they were sitting next to each other before draping the throw blanket over their legs. “Chamomile is good for your aching tummy, but I guess you can have the juice or water instead.”

Regis’ phone dinged as he handed over the sippy cup. It was Cor, he was outside. “I’ll be right back.” He went to greet the chauffeur and see if he needed help, Cor had never said what the present was. The aid was unnecessary. Regis brought Cor and his little gift into the living room. 

“Happy Birthday, Prompto. Are you feeling any better?” Cor walked over to the sofa and sat next to the boys, angling himself to face them as he handed over the wrapped package. Prompto abandoned his juice to say hello to his friend. “Thank you! My tummy is only a tiny bit grumpy now. What’s inside?” 

“Open it and see.” 

Noctis leaned over his brother’s shoulder to try and see what it was. Prompto ripped the paper and pulled out a blank notepad, a set of stampers, and an ink pad. He turned over each stamper to look at the image. There was a cactuar, a chocobo, a moogle, and a behemoth. 

Regis didn’t say anything, but he wondered why Cor had gotten such a messy gift. Noctis had received a sticker book from Cor for his birthday in August, and that was relatively neater. Well, Regis supposed it was because Cor wouldn’t have to clean up the ink himself. That or he had no clue how much mischief four year olds could cause with an ink pad. 

“I saw the chocobo stamp in the store and I remembered how much you love those birds.” Cor was suddenly bombarded with hugs from both boys. (Noctis was already planning to borrow the stamps, so he wanted to say thank you too.) “Hey, should you be launching yourself like that? Please don’t throw up on me.” 

Cor hugged them back anyway, careful not to squeeze too hard. He didn’t want to upset Prompto’s stomach. Regis asked if Cor wanted to stay for lunch, since he was already here and the boys enjoyed his company. 

“Please, Cor?” Two sets of puppy dog eyes looked up at him. “Well, I can’t say no now.”

-o-

Prompto managed several spoonfuls of the broth from the soup that Weskham had prepared. Regis reminded him that it was okay if he couldn’t finish it, overeating would probably make him feel worse. Cor had stayed for lunch as requested, but he had to head out immediately after.

Noctis was the first to ask if they could use the new stamps. 

“Alright... Let me get something to cover the table and your clothes.” Regis went to find some old shirts to use as smocks. He didn’t know what to cover the table with at first, but then he remembered he had an old quilt he could use. “The stamps are only supposed to be used on the paper.” 

Prompto took the chocobo one first, of course. “I’m going to make a whole ranch just like Daddy’s story!” His father was surprised he still remembered that tale, it had been a while since he had told it. Noctis plastered his paper with the other three stamps, waiting for his brother to relinquish the fourth stamp. 

He was taking too long, and the older boy was tired of using the stamps. They had gone through several pages of the notepad, ripping them out to be used. Noctis poked the ink pad and went to touch Prompto’s face. Regis stopped him just in time. “The ink is only for the paper! Please don’t put any on his face, or yours.” 

It was time to clean up after that. 

“What would you like to do now?” Regis hoped it would be less messy. Prompto yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Nap time?” Noctis agreed wholeheartedly. They lay down on the sofa with the throw blanket again, Chocobo clutched in between them. 

Regis pulled out Prompto’s gifts for when they woke up. Weskham had made the cake anyway, it would still be good tomorrow if it turned out Prompto couldn’t eat much. The boys were allowed to nap for two hours. 

“Noctis. Prompto. Come on, it’s time to leave dreamland...” Regis ran his hands through their hair, and they slowly woke up. “Are you ready for present time?” That aided in rousing them. 

Prompto opened his gifts, and Noctis clapped after each one. Most of it was clothing or art supplies, but the last present was a toy camera. The blond held it up and aimed. “Can this take real pictures!?” 

A flash of panic coursed through Regis. What if he didn’t like it because it couldn’t actually take pictures? Four years of age was too young for a real camera though. Maybe next year. “No... but you can still use my phone when you want to photograph things.” Regis sighed in relief when Prompto hugged the toy. “Thank you, Daddy! Can I borrow it now to take a picture of my toy camera? And Noct? And you? And can I take a selfie?” 

“Hahaha, looks like someone is feeling better now!” Regis handed over the phone so his baby photographer could get to work. Noctis rubbed Prompto’s belly before he had his picture taken. “No more grumpy stuff?” 

“No! I feel happy and my tummy does too!” Prompto smiled brightly. Regis grinned back. “Happy enough for cake?” 

“Yes!” Prompto and Noctis raced to the dining room, Regis scrambling to follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully next week I’ll learn how AOOO works, hahaha! Tune in next week to find out...


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed what I had originally planned, and now this is chapter is connected to the next one (that I’m still writing). 
> 
> Sorry for the disappearing act, I’m a bit upset I missed a week. Hopefully this two-parter will help you to forgive me XP

“Why do you have to go?” Noctis folded his arms and watched his father fill the suitcase on the bed. 

Prompto, who was right behind his sibling, hugged Chocobo closer to his chest. A chunk of fluff dropped out, but it was ignored. “When are you coming back, Daddy?” 

Regis stopped looking for the dress shirt he was going to pack. He sat down on the bed next to the suitcase and held out his hands. They climbed up onto his lap and leaned against him as he wrapped his arms around their bodies. “We spoke about this, my sons. I’ll only be gone for three days. I have to go to Lestallum for a business conference.” 

“Three days is forever.” Noctis angrily glared up at his father. How could he abandon them for that long? It was bad enough he was at work all the time, and now he had to go far away too? 

Prompto misunderstood Noctis’ pouting. “You’re leaving forever!?” Tears welled up immediately. Regis hurriedly explained, it was important that they knew he would come right home as soon as he could. He didn’t want to leave them, but there would be no way to have them at the conference. “No! No, I’m coming back, it’s just three days! Three days where I’ll miss my babies, but I can call every night so we can talk.” 

“P-Promise?” “Yeah, promise! No forgetting at all or I’ll be super mad.” 

He pulled them closer to his chest. “You have my word.” 

-o-

“They’re already showered and in bed sleeping. If you need anything, I’ve put Sylva’s phone number on the fridge. I’ll call every night to talk to them... Am I forgetting anything else? I feel like I am...”

Monica put her suitcase down on the floor of the Caelum’s living room. “Regis, they will be fine. A little upset at first, but I’ll try to help them feel better.” 

“Thank you again for agreeing to stay the whole weekend. I really don’t know what I would’ve-“ Regis’ phone rang. It was Clarus. “Sorry, Monica, I have to leave now. They’ve pushed the airship departure time up, now I only have an hour to get there.”

Regis put on his coat, grabbed his suitcase, and thanked the nanny one last time. He was grateful she was going above and beyond. 

“Have a good trip.” Monica closed the door behind him. Turning around, she opened her suitcase and found her toothbrush. She crept to the boy’s bedroom and slowly opened the door to peek in. 

Prompto was practically buried in Noctis’ arms, and they were both fast asleep. 

Monica closed the door quietly and went to brush her teeth. She’d be camping on the Caelum family sofa for the next few days. 

==========================

Prompto woke up when he heard Noctis crying. 

“Noct? What’s wrong?” He felt Noctis hug him tighter. “Did you have the scary dreams again?” 

“Y-yeah. I was running and I couldn’t find anybody and it was dark.” The older boy calmed down when he realized he was alright, Prompto was here, everything was okay. All they had to do was go to Daddy’s bed and then he’d-

Wait. They couldn’t go to Daddy’s bed. 

Well, they could, but it would be empty. He had said goodbye and goodnight at bedtime because he was flying ‘overnight’. Neither boy had been sure about how to fly over something like nighttime, but maybe it just meant that the airship would fly through the starry night sky?

“I miss Daddy.” This was stupid. Why did he have to leave when the nightmares came back? Noctis huffed and scowled. Prompto put his thumb in his mouth. He was kind of sad too, because now Noctis was angry AND Daddy was gone. Why was everything going all wrong? 

Prompto remembered something, so he pulled his thumb out. “Daddy said Monica was coming. Where is she?” He hadn’t seen her at bedtime. What if she had forgotten to come!? Then they’d be all alone!?! 

They sat up. “Let’s go look. Maybe she is hiding?” Noctis didn’t know why she would hide, but he had to make sure Prompto wasn’t scared. Daddy wouldn’t ever leave them all alone in the house. Right? He had told them that the nanny was coming, and Daddy never lied. 

Prompto held his brother’s hand. “It’s dark, Noct. How will we see her?” He was right, the hallway had little lighting at this time of night. The blond squinted, but that didn’t make things any clearer. Noctis kept pulling him forward as he marched through the dark. “I don’t know. But we’ll find her.” 

They were at Daddy’s room now. Monica was a grown up, so she’d need a grown up bed like Daddy’s. Maybe she was in here? This was the only room with a grown up bed, after all. “Monica?” 

No answer. 

“Noct, w-where is she?” Prompto was starting to think that maybe she really had forgotten to come. 

“Don’t cry, Prom! I’ll find her! She has to be here. MONICA!!?? MONICA??!!!” Noctis turned around to face Prompto. “Help me call!” 

“MOOOONNIIIICAAAAA!!!” 

A light flipped on, and the hallway was no longer dark. 

“Boys? What are you doing up, it’s two o’clock in the morning?” Monica was rubbing her eyes as two baby boys latched onto her legs. 

“We thought you forgot to come.” “I’m so happy you’re here! Daddy said you were coming and you did!” 

“Yes, yes, I’m here, haha. Let’s get you back to bed.” Monica yawned and took their hands to guide them back to their room. “Of course I came. Regis... Your dad would never ever leave you boys all alone. That’s not safe. Little children always need an adult to help them.” 

“Why?” Noctis was glad she was here, and didn’t want her to go yet. They were in bed again, and there was one sure way to keep her here and talking. Prompto hugged Chocobo closer. “Can I have Bow Chocobo too?” 

Monica passed the doll and sat by the bed to answer the question. “Well, children need an adult to help them do things they can’t do yet. Like... cooking, or going to the store, or doing laundry.” 

“Oh, yeah, I don’t want to do laundry.” Noctis chuckled. Prompto chimed in with another example. “We need adults to help us reach high up things!” 

“Yes, you may need help reaching things sometimes. What else could an adult help you with?” She yawned again, but she continued the conversation because she knew they probably didn’t want to be alone just yet. She stayed with them until they fell back asleep. 

Prompto smiled as he snuggled closer to Noctis, who was back to dreaming peacefully. Monica fixed the blanket over them and went back to the sofa. 

-o-

Everyone woke up late, and so they had a light brunch. 

Weskham had arrived normal time, and when nobody came down for breakfast he had gone looking. He had forgotten that Regis’ trip was this weekend, and had only remembered when he saw Monica passed out on the couch. He left her where she was to go prepare food. 

He had shaped the bread, eggs, and sausage into a smiling face. He knew the boys would need cheering up, and what better way than with happy food?

Prompto liked it, at least. Noctis was kind of mad that Weskham put tomatoes in the eggs. He sat there and picked them out while Prompto merrily ate the bread. 

“So what do you boys want to do today?” Monica took a sip of the Ebony that Weskham had given her. He had noticed the bags under her eyes and thought she needed the extra energy. Prompto kept chewing and let Noctis answer. “I want to wait for Daddy to get back.”

“No, what do you want to do while we wait? You can’t just sit and stare at the door until your father returns.” Monica knew that attempt would be short-lived, so it would be best to prevent it from occurring. It would only lead to frustration. 

“Can we watch tv?” Prompto finally suggested something as Noctis went back to demolishing his food. Monica made an indecisive hum. “...Only for a little bit, okay? We won’t watch tv all day, that’s not healthy.”

They managed to convince Monica to let them watch two episodes, but then she pulled out some board games. They reviewed their colors, numbers, letters, shapes... 

Noctis put the blue star piece he was holding down. “I’m tired of this stuff.” Monica suggested they all clean up and do something else then. Prompto sat in their box after everything was put away. “I’m the store person, come buy stuff, Noct!” 

“I’m gonna buy... this!” Noctis pulled at the blanket they usually left in the bottom of the box. Prompto was still sitting on it, but he moved so his customer could purchase the item. He crawled out of the box. “My turn to buy stuff from the store.” 

“Wait, we forgot to drive there first! Get back in the Regalia!” 

“Oh! Wait for me, wait for me!” Prompto scrambled back in and Noctis started kicking the box’s wall. “I’m making us go super fast, like that bicycle guy on tv! Help me pedal, Prompto!” 

Now, the box had been there for months. The cardboard had grown weak from all the climbing and coloring and kicking it had endured. This playtime was the literal breaking point, and when Noctis’ foot knocked the wall down they were both surprised. Prompto immediately tried to put the cardboard flap back where it went. 

Monica saw the destroyed box wall and ushered the boys out of their damaged toy. The children hovered behind her as she examined the cardboard. “Can you fix it?” 

“I don’t know...” Even if she taped it, the box was still old. It would likely break again. She was surprised it had even survived this long. Well, Regis would be glad. He’d been trying to remove it for a while, but each attempt had led to a small argument. “I don’t think I can fix this.” 

“Oh.” Prompto watched as Noctis tried to take the box back. “Are you sure? Let me try.” The restoration attempt was futile. 

Monica turned the cartoons back on so she could throw out the box. They were conflicted. They were losing their box, but they got to watch tv again!? Usually there was only one tv turn a day but now they were getting two?! The excitement overrode the grief of box’s departure. 

-o-

After lunch Monica took the boys to the park. It was November, and a chill was firmly stationed in the air. She had bundled the boys up nicely though. 

“Hey, Noct, your coat and my coat are black! And our hats and gloves too.” Prompto pointed and giggled. 

“Yeah, so now we match! Black is my favorite color. And blue. And yellow, because it’s like your hair. I like things that are like my bestest little baby brother in the whole wide world.” Noctis smiled to himself. 

“Aww! You’re the bestest too, Noct!” Prompto let go of Monica’s hand to run over to the slide. “Come on! Let’s go wheeee!!” 

“Be careful on the mulch, okay?” Monica sat on the bench and watched them play. When they had used all of the playground equipment they started creating their own games. 

Prompto helped Noctis search for rocks in the mulch, claiming that they’d find all the treasure. They’d put each ‘crystal’ by Monica, who’d wait until they ran off again to discreetly toss a few rocks away. This went on for a while, and the boys didn’t even notice that their pile was staying the same size no matter how many rocks they found. They also missed how the pile of discarded rocks was growing behind the bench. 

When it was time to go home Monica asked them to pick only three rocks to take. “Your coat pockets aren’t that big, so the rest won’t fit.” 

“Okay!” The boys chose the smoothest ones, and left the rest sitting on the bench. 

-o-

Monica was reading them a bedtime story when Regis called. 

“Hello, my precious sons. I miss you so much. Are you being good for Monica?” His voice crackled through the speakerphone. He sounded exhausted, but the boys were too excited to notice. 

Noctis grabbed the phone and held it close to his face so he could talk right into it. “We’re being good! Even though I broke our box... But it’s okay, we cleaned up all the stuff that was inside so the living room is nice and neat.”

“Ah, the box broke? Well, you have so many toys; you can have fun without it. What else did you do today?” 

“We found more crystals at the park and-“ 

Prompto tugged on Noctis’ sleeve. “Can I talk to Daddy? Please?” The eldest handed the phone over. Prompto smiled as he smushed it to his face, despite the phone still being on speaker. “Hi Daddy! We are going to bed now because it’s dark out cuz it is night. What are you doing? Is it bedtime for you like us?” 

“Yes, it is dark out here too. I’m in the hotel room just talking to my baby boys. I probably should go to bed soon. The convention was boring, it’s all business stuff I learned in college. I guess it’s good to review though.” Regis’ voice was steady as the phone delivered it to his sons. 

Noctis crawled closer to Prompto to scold his father. “Daddy, that sounds boring. Didn’t you do anything cool?” 

“Hahahaha, I rode in the airship. That was cool at first, but all the flying got boring fast.” 

“Did you fly over the stars at night?” Prompto was still amazed that his Daddy had flown through the sky. He had seen airships on tv, and they looked super big. Regis re-assured his son that he had a safe flight before sighing deeply. “My sons, it is really late. You need to go to sleep now. I’ll call tomorrow, so please don’t be sad. Please pass the phone to Monica after our goodnight.” The boys could hear him pretending to make a kiss noise near the phone. “Noctis, Prompto, goodnight. I love you.” 

“I love you, Daddy.” “Bye, Daddy, I love you.” They made lots of kissing noises by the receiver. “Mm, it’s time for bed now, boys. Goodnight, one last time. I’ll call back tomorrow.” 

Prompto passed the phone to Monica and lay down next to Noctis. “Noct, Daddy is going to bed too just like us.” He thought it was cool that even though they were apart, they were still doing the same thing. 

“Yeah. I hope he is okay without us.” Noctis yawned. “Goodnight, Prompto.” 

Monica interrupted to say a quick goodnight before taking the phone outside of the room. She was filling Regis in, the day had been eventful and the father wanted to know all of it. (He would have gladly listened to his sons’ recounting, but they needed to get to sleep.)

“Goodnight, Noct. I love you and I’m glad you stayed here with me instead of going with Daddy.” Prompto’s gratitude fell on sleeping ears, so he settled down next to his brother and closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, the next part of their weekend is on the way! 
> 
> Please leave a comment ❤️


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part two of Regis’ weekend trip

Monica was driving them to the Fleurets’ house. 

Regis had suggested she take the boys to their friends, it would distract them from another day of waiting for his return. He had just asked Monica to call first to make sure Sylva was okay with it. She was, and so the Caelum children and their nanny were on their way. 

“Now, boys, we can’t stay all day. Just until lunch, and then we have to go back home. Miss Sylva has a lot of work to do, but she wanted to see you both to make sure you were okay.” Monica parked in front of their destination. 

“We’re okay, look at us. We don’t have any boo-boos and we’re not sick.” Noctis pointed at himself and his brother. He had slept better last night, and so he was in a good mood. 

Prompto, who had been sucking his thumb during the drive, removed his finger from his mouth. “I’m okay, Monica. But I still want to see Miss Sylva and Luna and Ray-Ray.”

She unbuckled them from their car seats. “We’re going in now.” They rang the bell and waited. The door opened and Sylva ushered them into her house. “Hello, darlings, how are you?” She immediately scooped her friend’s sons into her arms, her own children running to see who was at the door. 

Prompto snuggled into the hug further as Noctis waved to Luna over Sylva’s shoulder. “Hi! We came over to play.” 

“Yay! Ray-Ray, look!” Luna clapped and tugged at Ravus’ arm. “Prom and Noct are here to play!” 

Ravus waved his hand, nonverbally encouraging them to follow him. “Come on, the game’s still paused!” He dashed off to his room and Luna thundered after. “Yeah, come on, come on!” 

Sylva released them from her embrace. “Go ahead, they’re playing a game that Ravus’ friend recommended. It’s multiplayer, I think, so why don’t you two join in?” Prompto and Noctis ran off to see what this new game was as Sylva offered a cup of tea to Monica. 

“Oh, thank you. You know, the boys are handling Regis’ trip a lot better than I thought they would...” She continued telling a concerned Sylva about how well the boys were managing their father’s temporary absence. 

-o-

“And that guy uses magic but you can use the zell tree and regalite to buy some things like spells and more lives to keep playing... Look, I leveled all the way up to seven! I’m basically a master already.” Ravus touched the television screen as he explained the game. ‘King’s Knight’, he had called it. Apparently this was the console version but the game was an app on phones too. 

Luna showed them her character. “It’s a green monstery thing that’s really strong. And I have a thief but I just got him.” 

“How do we play?” Noctis held out his hands for a controller. Prompto was still examining the colorful screen, trying to decide which character he wanted to be first. “Can I be this guy? Look, he has cool hair, right Noct?” 

Ravus set up two more characters. “Okay, so here’s how we play: Use this button to attack and-“ 

‘Hic!’

Prompto covered his mouth. “Oops I’m squeaky, haha.” 

Luna laughed. “That was so cute! Do it again!” The older three watched and waited for the little boy to make the funny sound again. “Uh... I don’t know how to get squeaky again. Sorry...” He blushed, and they all returned to the game. 

‘Hic!’ 

“Hahaha! You did it again!” Luna giggled, and they continued playing. 

‘Hic!’

“Okay, stop now. I’m trying to focus on the game...” Ravus was busy slamming the attack button and he didn’t need any extra distractions. Noctis used a spell that cleared the field as Luna found a treasure chest. Prompto apologized. “I didn’t squeaky hiccup on purpose, it was an accident.” Another ‘Hic!’ left him, and Ravus paused the game. 

“We’ve got to stop your hiccups. It’s getting crazy now.” The oldest boy tried to remember all the ways to get rid of hiccups. “We could scare them out.” 

Prompto gasped and Noctis stood up. “Nuh uh, you’re not scaring him! That’s mean!” How dare he suggest that!? Making somebody scared on purpose was the worst, so there was no way they’d do that to get rid of hiccups. 

“...He could drink water? Or was it laughing that stopped them? Uh...” Ravus wasn’t sure if that was one. Luna just started tickling Prompto. “Hiccup hiccup go away!”

“Stohahahaha-oooop ah haha HIC hahahahaha!” Prompto squirmed as they tried to cure him. Noctis grabbed Luna’s hands. “It didn’t work, he still has them!” 

Luna yanked her hands free. “Well I’m going to ask Mommy. She’ll know what to do!” Luna ran off, but then they heard a thump in the hall followed by crying. The boys ran out to see. “I tr-tr-iii-ppppeeeedd!” 

There was a tiny scrape on her knee, and Ravus ran to get Sylva. “Mom! Mom! Luna fell! She needs a bandage!!” 

Prompto and Noctis kissed Luna’s cheeks as they waited for an adult. ‘Hic!’ “Kisses make everything better.” 

“Yeah, Luna, you’ll be okay.” Noctis poked the spot next to the cut. “Oh no, you got a little blood on your dress.” He was right, the white fabric was tinged now. 

Luna started crying again. “No-oot myyyyy dr-dreeess!”

Sylva and Monica finally arrived, Ravus had relayed what had happened. “Oh, come here my darling baby. We’ll get you all cleaned up.” 

“Bu-uuut Mooooommmmmyyyyy, myyy dreeeessss!” Luna gripped the tiny stain and shoved it in her mother’s direction. It was ruined, garbage, and now she wouldn’t be able to wear it anymore. Lunafreya loved the white dresses Mommy picked for her, they made her look like a princess. Mommy said so!

“It’s not hard to remove bloodstains from clothing, darling. Come here.” Sylva carried Luna off to get her all sorted out. Ravus went back to his game, but the Caelum boys ambushed Monica. “Prompto can’t stop-“ ‘Hic!’ “See! That! He won’t stop doing that.” 

“Help me stop squeaking!” Prompto covered his mouth again before the hiccups could return. Monica lowered his hands gently. “Hiccups go away on their own. You don’t need to worry at all.” 

“Oh. Well Ray-Ray said we had to scare him but I said no way. I guess we can go play the game again then, huh?” Noctis grabbed Prompto and hurried to rejoin their older friend. “Slow ‘hic’ down, Noct!” 

-o-

Luna grabbed their hands and pulled them to her room. “You guys have to go now cuz it’s after lunch but you can’t leave if your nanny can’t find you.”

“Yeah, you’re right!” Noctis pointed to the bed. “Let’s hide under there!” He crawled under, shoving some shoes aside. Prompto hesitantly followed. “It’s dark under there. Will we get in trouble because we are hiding?”

“I don’t think so... Um, no way. We won’t. Now shh!” He pulled the blanket that was hanging off the bed down to better conceal them. The blond nodded and covered his eyes. If he couldn’t see the dark then it wouldn’t be so scary. Noctis scooted over as Luna joined them under the bed, careful not to move their blanket cover. “Yeah, shhh!” 

They heard Ravus in the hall. “They ran off this way, Miss Monica. Do they have to go now? I need their help with the game, I get bonuses for completing missions with lots of players.” 

“I’m sorry, but we have to go home now. Your mother has work to do, and I think your nanny will be here soon.” Monica answered and after hearing her the children under the bed shushed each other again. “They can come back to play the game another day. Okay?” 

“Alright. Check under the bed or in the closet. Luna always hides in those spots when we play.” Ravus opened his sister’s bedroom door and walked in with Monica. “Come out doodoobutt, it’s time to say bye.” 

Luna couldn’t believe her brother would switch sides so easily! “You’re a doodoobutt, stupid! Oh!” She had forgotten they were supposed to be hiding. She crawled out and motioned for the boys to stay hiding. “Prompto and Noctis are not under here with me so don’t look at all.”

“Oh? Too bad, I guess I’ll go home and enjoy one of Weskham’s desserts all by myself. Maybe I will play with Chocobo, too.” Monica was sure the gentle teasing would make them come out, and she was right. Both Caelum boys emerged, yelling. “No! I want dessert!” “Hey! Chocobo is my favorite toy, please don’t steal him!” 

“Haha, let’s go. Say goodbye and then we’ll go thank Sylva, and then we can go pester Weskham for a snack at your home.” 

“Okay...” The boys hugged Luna and Ravus goodbye. They thanked Sylva for letting them come over and she kissed their foreheads. “Any time, my loves.” 

Monica drove them back home, and she wasn’t allowed to forget about the dessert she was supposed to ask for. “We will ask him. What do you want to play after we eat?” 

“May we please play that game?” Prompto held up his hands. “King’s Knight?” Noctis laughed. “We don’t have that game at home, right Monica? I want it though. It was fun.”

“No, you don’t have that game at home. But you can pretend you’re the characters? Won’t that be fun too? It’s better to use your imagination anyway.” 

“I wanna be the knight with the sword!” “I’m the thief guy, Noct!” Ooh, it looked like the game would start now despite the fact that they were still in the car. 

-o-

“Splash splash, pbthllfff, splashy splash doo doo doo dum deee!” Prompto sang during bathtime, giggling when Noctis asked him what he was saying. “Just singing silly stuff, haha!”

Monica was wrapping them up in towels when they heard a door slamming closed. Who could that be this late at night? And why was the door slamming, shouldn’t whoever that was have knocked? Unless they had the keys... Only a few people had the keys to this house, and one of them was out of town until tomorrow?? There was no way he’d... “Wait here, boys, I’m going to go see what that was.” 

Prompto clutched the towel and moved closer to his brother. Why did Monica run off so quickly after that noise? “Noct? What’s going on?” 

“I don’t know, let’s go look.” He started forward but Prompto reminded him that Monica said to stay here. “Well, I can’t let you stay scared. I’m going to look.” 

He didn’t even get out the door before Monica came back. “Guess who it is!”

Regis stepped into the bathroom behind her. 

“DADDY!!!” “My sons! Oh, come here!!” Still only in towels, the wet children tackled their father as he knelt. His suit got soaked, but he didn’t care. “Ooh, I missed you so much!” 

After his sons were dressed he explained why he was back so early. Monica went home, leaving the overjoyed children with their father. “The convention center had plumbing issues and it was deemed unsafe. I heard that the toilets were overflowing-“ 

“Did you see it? Was there poop?” Noctis interrupted to ask his very important question. Prompto covered his nose dramatically. “Gross! Did it really smell a lot?” 

“No, I didn’t see it. Or smell it, thank goodness. I was at the hotel when I found out. The entire event had to be cancelled, so that’s why I’m back early. I’m glad I made it before bedtime.” Regis had been unpacking his suitcase during the tale, Prompto and Noctis sitting on his bed. “Lay down, my sons. I’ll be right back.”

He tucked them in and went to shower. The boys waited for him, excitedly wiggling under the blanket. “I’m so happy he’s back, Noct!” 

“Me too! And we get to sleep in the big bed.” The older boy patted the pillow. Regis returned in pajamas and Prompto moved so Daddy could lay down in the middle. He wrapped his arms around his baby boys. 

“Mm. Did you have fun today?”

“Yeah, we got to play a video game!” Both Prompto and Noctis had their faces nestled against Regis’ sides. “Oh, and we hid under the bed and I was only scared a little because Noct and Luna were there.”

“Really? What else?”

The family lay there, sharing stories and just enjoying each other’s company until they fell asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

They kept talking about this ‘King’s Knight’ more and more as Christmas crept closer. 

Regis finally looked it up a week before the holiday, and decided that his sons needed a game with less fighting. The reviews from other parents warned him that his baby boys were too young for all the action. 

Game companies made educational video games, right? Noctis and Prompto had really enjoyed the video game, so he wanted to get them something similar and decidedly less violent. He was surprised Sylva even let Lunafreya play such a game with her older brother. 

Standing up from his office desk, he went to fetch his coat. He had time to hit the probably crowded mall before driving home. 

-o-

“Noct! Psst, hey! Wake up!” Prompto couldn’t wait to go see what was hiding under the tree. “Come on!” 

Noctis rubbed his eyes. “Oh! Let’s go get Daddy and open presents!!!”

Chocobo lost another chunk of fluff as he was dragged along during their quest. He was outright dropped when his owner climbed up onto the big bed. “Daddy!!” 

“Get up now, Daddy, it’s time to wake up because it is Christmas! Hurry up already!”

Regis covered his head with a pillow. “You boys are crazy, Christmas isn’t until nine o’clock. That means go back to sleep for two more hours.” His feeble attempt at getting more shut-eye was shot down. “You’re crazy! It’s Christmas now!” 

“Daddy cooooommmmeee ooooonnn!” Prompto lay on top of Regis and started patting his back. Maybe the drumroll would rouse him? Noctis joined in, with a bit more force. Regis turned over. “Attacked by my own children! The outrage! Maybe I should keep all the presents for myself. 

He launched up and caught both boys in a hug, and he tickled what he could reach. They wiggled and squirmed, laughing. “No! The presents are ours!” 

Escaping the deadly trap, the children sped towards the treasure waiting under the tree. They began shredding the wrapping paper without preamble, and everything they unwrapped was quickly cast aside so they could see the next item. 

There were the usual clothes, art supplies, and books, and what was this last box? It was kind of big, and when Noctis tried to lift it he had trouble. Prompto moved closer to see why his brother was having difficulties. It didn’t have a label either, so who was it for? Prompto’s presents had the red labels, and Noctis’ presents had the green ones, so who got this box with no color coding? “Go ahead and open it together. It’s for both of you.” 

Regis watched as they tore off the wrapping paper, and identical looks of joyful disbelief graced both of their faces. 

“This is the thing that Ray-Ray has that plays games!” “No way! Do we get to play King’s Knight here at our house!?” 

“...No... I bought different games for us to try.” Regis was ready to explain that he wanted them to try more age appropriate games, but the boys were already trying to open the box so they could get to the system inside. “Hold on, you need these, too.” 

He handed over the games for them to open. He had went with two each, not wanting to go overboard in case they didn’t like them. 

Prompto had ended up with the racing one and the rhythm game, and Noctis unwrapped the sports simulator and the children’s role playing game. Cute characters and bright colors adorned all four disc covers. “This car one looks cool!” 

“Yeah, Prom, maybe we can drive a black car that looks like ours!” 

“Hold on, hold on, haha! I have to set up the system first. Pass me the box, I need to read the manual.” Regis started trying to hook up the console, and the boys hovered over his shoulder. 

-o-

The endeavor was paused so they could eat breakfast, but as soon as breakfast was over Regis was rushed to return to his task. 

“What does this wire do?” Prompto held up a short black cord. Regis said he didn’t know, but to be fair he didn’t really look at it. “It says put the port A connector in slot 2... what does that even mean?” 

“There’s letters on the thing that Prom has.” Noctis grabbed the other end impatiently. “Daddy, can you hurry? I want to play King’s Knight now please.” 

Regis finally figured out that the manual was referring to the labeled wires, one of which was in his sons’ hands. Only half paying attention because the console setup was frustrating, he spoke without fully thinking. “Noctis, I didn’t get that game.” 

“Yes you did, look.” Noctis poked the console. 

“No, I got the system. It didn’t come with that game, I bought the other games instead.” Regis finally turned it on, and the television displayed the startup screen before a pop-up appeared. “What’s this? ‘Update system’? This is new, why does it already need updates?”

Meanwhile, Noctis was still trying to figure out what Daddy meant. Prompto asked again, just to be sure. “Daddy, why doesn’t this have King’s Knight? Ray-Ray’s has that game and this is just like his... right?”

Regis finally looked away from the thing he’d been battling with. There were no more steps to follow on the manual and he couldn’t do anything on the screen until it finished updating. “My sons, I bought this for you because you had a lot of fun playing the video games at Sylva’s house.” 

Prompto nodded. That was true, it was fun playing video games. 

Noctis crossed his arms. “Yeah, but we played King’s Knight. How are we going to have fun without it?” He was going to kick the useless controller, but then he remembered that they were ‘delicate’. At least, that’s what Ray-Ray had said after Luna dropped one. He settled for frowning harder. 

Regis sighed. He should’ve known they would want the same game as their friends. “That game is too violent. I think-“

“But Daddy, it didn’t have a lot of purple in it! Only a little, but if you don’t like purple that’s okay.” Prompto was going to explain that they could play the game even if it had that color when Regis pulled him into a hug. “Not violet. Vio-lent. Violent means there’s a lot of hitting and other mean things.” 

Noctis shook his head. “But Daddy, they only hit monsters! You’re supposed to fight monsters!” 

Regis pulled him into a hug too. He maneuvered so he was sitting down and they were in his lap. “When you are older you can fight monsters in video games. Right now, I think we should try the other games. Look. It loaded.” 

It was true, the television said the updates were complete. “Can you at least give the other games a chance? Which one should we try first?”

Prompto wiggled out of his father’s lap to grab a controller. Maybe the games weren’t the one they had been expecting, but the covers made them look fun. Daddy had gotten them as Christmas gifts, and gifts were supposed to make you happy, right? He could try them out. “Ooh, I want to play...” He looked at the choices again. Noctis jumped up, not wanting to miss out because of his tantrum. He grabbed one at random. “This one, Prompto!” 

It was the role playing game, and Regis put it in for them. “Seriously!? More updates? Ugh. Let’s get snacks, and then we’ll try the game.” 

They grabbed some of the gingerbread that Weskham had prepared, and sat in front of the television. Usually they weren’t allowed to eat in the living room because of the crumbs, but it was Christmas. Regis could allow it for now. 

When the game finished installing, peppy music blared from the speakers. Noctis hit start, and Prompto pointed to the text on screen. “I can’t read that.” 

Regis read it for them. “Once upon a time, two friends wanted to build a house in a new town. The town was full of kind people who offered advice. There were lots of- Hey, you pressed the button too soon!” 

“Oops. Sorry. What does that say now?” Noctis put the controller down so he didn’t do it again. 

“Uh... The villagers will help you as you try to build the perfect home.” Regis paraphrased the rest of the opening sequence, and then the avatar creation started. They tried to make the little animated boys look just like themselves. After they were as close as possible, the tutorial started. “Walk with the directional pad... that’s this on here. Press the X button to jump, talk, and pick up items.” 

The characters zipped across the screen as Regis helped them complete the tutorial. The game finally started, and a character’s voice rang out from the television. “Oh good, the voice acting reads all the dialogue.” The father was getting thirsty from all the reading out loud. 

“Noct! Look! That’s our house!” Prompto pointed to the screen, excited. “Wait, where’s our car? Where’s their Daddy? We made me, and Noct, and we have a house, so where is the Daddy guy?” 

“Maybe he’s at work. Just like when he’s gone from our real house! Right, Daddy?” 

“Yes, Noctis, maybe your character’s father works a lot just like me.” Regis ruffled his sons’ hair. Cheeky little babies. 

They played the game, running around talking to non-playable characters and collecting items. There was a plot, but the boys ignored it in favor of just exploring the world. 

“Alright, find a way to save. It’s lunchtime.” 

“After can we do the racing car one?” Noctis looked hopefully. Prompto picked up the case. “Here, Daddy, can we try this one with you?” 

“I’m glad you like the games.” Regis turned off the system so they could eat. “It looked like you had a lot of fun.” 

Noctis looked at the ground, embarrassed. He had made such a fuss for nothing. The other game was fun even if there wasn’t any fighting. “...Daddy? I’m sorry I got mad that you didn’t buy King’s Knight.” 

“Aw, come here. You are acting like a big boy right now, apologizing for being upset.” Regis’ heart swelled with pride as his son hugged him. Not wanting to be left out, Prompto piped up too. “Thank you for the games! I forgot to say it before but thank you!” 

“You’re being a big boy too, by expressing gratitude.” Regis smiled at Prompto’s beaming grin. Daddy had called him a big boy just like Noct. 

Prompto’s stomach rumbled, breaking up the family hugfest. “Can we get lunch now?” 

“Last one there is a doodoobutt!” Noctis hurried to get in front as soon as Regis let them go. The father sighed. Another bad habit picked up from Luna and Ravus. First violent video games, and now potty humor. 

Oh well. They’d grow out of it. For now, he joined in the race even though he was going to let his precious sons win. 

Prompto had zoomed to the front, and Noctis made it right after. “Look, Noct! Daddy is the doodoobutt! Daddy, you’re the doodoobutt!!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m a doodoobutt. But you guys are...” He leaned down to whisper. “Not at the table yet!” Regis pretended to run to the table. The boys beat him in that race too. “Oh man, I think you two are going to win in that racing game! Look how fast you are!” 

The family dissolved into giggles. They’d see who would win after lunch.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER WAS SO HARD TO WRITE 
> 
> (More on that in the bottom notes)

“Chocobo is looking very thin these days.” Regis looked at the doll in his son’s arms before closing the carseat’s straps. 

“Yeah, I lost a lot of fluff. But I still love him.” Prompto hugged the toy to prove his point. Cor glanced at what they were talking about in the rear view mirror before asking if he should turn up the heat. “It’s supposed to get really cold today.” 

Noctis poked his coat. “We’re okay, Cor, we are bundled up.” 

“Yes, but if you get too cold or too hot then say something.” Regis buckled his own seatbelt and the car started moving. He adjusted the heat anyway, lowering it just a tad. They had sweaters on under their coats and Regis didn’t want them overheating. 

“Are we there yet?” Prompto started wiggling when they were a few blocks from the mall. “I drank lots of juice.”

“We’re almost there, hold on!” Cor began searching for a parking spot faster, not wanting the little boy to have an accident. He settled for just pulling in front of the mall’s entrance. Regis flew out of his seat and tried to unbuckle the carseat straps as fast as possible. “Hold on, we can make it, hold on!”

“I’m holding it, I’m holding it!” The Caelums raced off as Cor went to park properly. Noctis laughed as they ran to the mall bathrooms. Running inside wasn’t normally allowed, but now even Daddy was breaking the rule. In addition to the abnormal behavior, the other mall goers moved out of the way so they wouldn’t be barreled over. It was just like in the video games! Everyone moved out of the way for the main characters to pass, even though the digital avatars never ever said ‘excuse me’.

They made it just in time!!! “Phew… I held it just like a big boy.”

Regis held Prompto up to the sink so he could wash his hands. He put his son down and handed him a brown paper towel. “This paper is scratchy. Why do they have this in the bathroom?” The blond threw it out and just waved his hands until they were mostly dry.

“It’s cheaper to use this kind of paper towel. Noctis, do you need it while we are here?” Regis asked rhetorically, he had his son sit on the potty anyway. It was good that he did, the little boy went even though he had said he was okay. He was held up to wash his hands like his younger brother had been, and he didn’t bother with the paper towels. “Prom, look. I’m a monster bleeehhh!” He waved his hands and Prompto tried to duck. “You’re getting water on me, haha!”

“My sons, come with me.” Regis went into the handicapped stall and asked them to turn around so he could use the toilet. They faced the wall and counted to five. “Daddy, we already got to five. You’re taking forever.”

“Noctis, I’m finished.” Regis rolled his eyes. When had this new time limit come about? He never timed or rushed them in the bathroom. They waited for him to wash his hands, this time counting up to ten. He felt now was as good a time as any to get in a little number review. “Prompto, what comes after ten?”

“Eleven!” “Noctis, what comes next?” “Twelve.” 

“Thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen eighteen nineteen twenty!” Prompto continued before his father asked, and during his recital they left the bathroom. 

“That’s right, my son.” Regis held their hands as they all walked through the mall. “Alright, shoe store first. It’s closest.” They had come to the mall today to buy new clothes for the children. Most of Noctis’ clothes were a bit too small now, and though they fit Prompto Regis still wanted to buy the youngest his own outfits. The blond had outgrown some of his stuff as well, but there was no one to pass it down to. They had gotten some clothes at Christmas, and the father had gone through the closet to make room. He had pulled out a good chunk of their wardrobe, either the garments were damaged or stained or just too tiny. For the sake of being thorough, he had checked their sneakers too. 

Whoo, were those things beat up!

Which brought them to today’s mall visit. Regis had his boys sit down on the little benches in the middle of the shoe store aisles. He picked up the foot sizing tool that was stored under it and looked at all the measurements. “Take off your shoes, I need to see which size is the right one.”

Whoa, they got to take off their shoes outside of the house? This was so cool! Four dinged-up shoes dropped to the floor. “Socks too?”

“No, Prompto, leave the socks on. Noctis, give me your foot, we’ll check you first.” Regis adjusted the tool, trying to get an accurate reading. “Stop wiggling your toes. Alright. This size is over… there. Let me get your foot now.”

Prompto passed his foot, trying to stay as still as possible. His measurement didn’t take as long because of his cooperation. “Hmm. Your size is the same as Noctis’ old size now.” Regis took his eldest’s shoe and put it on Prompto. He squeezed the toe area of the shoe, and sure enough the sneaker fit perfectly. This made things easy then.

“Okay, so it looks like both of your sizes are on this wall over here.” The Caelums started scanning the choices. Prompto held up black sneakers with a little bit of white on it. “These! Can I get these?”

“Try them on first.” 

Prompto plopped down on the floor to pull his choice on, and Noctis stopped looking at the wall to watch his brother. “Here, I can do the laces for you.” He took them before his brother or father could say anything and tried to tie the shoestrings. Try was the operative word, all he managed was a nice big knot.

Oops.

Regis sighed and sat on the floor next to his children to try and work on freeing his baby boy. “After this is out, I’ll show you how to properly tie laces.”

-o-

The fiasco with the shoes lasted until lunchtime, and they stopped at the mall’s pizzeria. It was little more than a hole in the wall, but the family of three only needed a booth.

The Caelums went to the clothing store next. As soon as they entered Noctis grabbed a red plaid shirt on the rack. He knew it was too large, but he just thought his sibling would look super cool with it. “Wear this one, Prom.”

“I can’t wear that. I’m too little and they made the shirt too big.” Prompto giggled as his brother let go of the adult-sized shirt. They continued walking with Regis to the section of the store with clothes that actually fit them. “Hey, it’s the same shirt but me-sized!” Prompto grabbed at the rack now, and Regis helped him get it down. 

“I found you a shirt, now pick one for me.” “Okay, Noct. Hmmm…” 

Regis discreetly guided his son towards what he was going to be searching through. “How about this one? It looks nice.” He pointed to a nice white dress shirt. It had a tie attached, and looked a lot more formal than what the boys normally wore. “No, Daddy. I like this one better. Can we pick it for Noct?” Prompto chose a black shirt instead. Noctis nodded. “That one looks cooler. Thanks, Prom.”

Regis grabbed the shirt he liked too, and looked for one for his younger son. The rest of the shopping trip went in a similar manner, the boys rejecting or accepting the clothes their father looked at. He overrode some choices, but mostly he let them pick out what they liked.

The large bag with the clothes and the little bag with the shoes went in one hand, and Regis held Noctis’ hand in the other. Prompto latched on to Noct’s free hand with instructions not to let go. The rule was unnecessary, Prompto wouldn’t let go of Noctis anyway in the mall. There were too many people around and he didn’t want to lose his brother and father.

Regis had to text Cor to find out where he parked. The chauffeur just brought the car to the front of the mall. “Did you stay in the car the whole time?” 

“Yes. I… fell asleep…” Cor seemed embarrassed to admit the truth. “I didn’t sleep well last night, the neighbors were loud. It was quiet in here after I parked, and I just drifted off.” 

“Did our message wake you up? Sorry.” 

“No, I woke up before your text. Don’t worry, I feel better now.” He had a little cramp in his neck, but he didn’t feel the need to mention that. 

“Did Chocobo help you sleep?” The doll sat discarded on the floor of the car. It had been dropped during their mad rush to the bathroom. “Can I please have him?” 

Regis reached back to pick up the toy and pass it over as Cor answered Prompto’s first question. Hmm. This doll was nothing more than fabric, and the last puff of polyfil fell out. 

“No, your Chocobo sat on the floor the whole time. I didn’t want to pick it up and lose the fluff that’s left.” 

Noctis pointed at the white puff on the floor. “Daddy just dropped it now. Is it all empty?” Prompto stuck his hand inside the cloth shell to check for filling. “There’s no more fluffies in here.” 

“Hm, time to throw it out.” Cor didn’t even glance away from the road as he suggested the cruel disposal of the beloved toy. 

“No! Chocobo would be sad and lonely in the garbage and then Bow Chocobo would be sad and lonely too!” Prompto hugged the remains of the doll, aghast that such a thing would be considered. Noctis nodded and joined the defense. “Yeah, you can’t throw toys out! That’s Prompto’s favorite, he needs it!” 

Regis made his choice, and felt horrible because he knew what the reaction would be. He justified it to make himself feel better. It would be better for the doll to disappear now while it was a sad shell instead of later when it was reduced to a mere scrap of fabric. If he let this go on then he had no doubt that Prompto would carry it until it was barely an echo of its former glory. 

Besides, he still had the one from a past Christmas. 

They let the issue drop, and the children looked out the window as the car traveled home. Nobody commented on how Chocobo was in a death grip. 

-o-

It was fun to help Daddy put all the new clothes away. 

All the old clothes went into boxes, and the family went to eat dinner after everything was cleaned up. They squeezed in a little video game time before their bath, and the clean boys sat on the bed. 

Prompto asked for Chocobo, realizing it wasn’t on the bed. “Where is it? Did you throw him away!?” 

“No, I think we left it in the car. You helped Noctis carry the shoe store bag in, and you had to put the doll down.” Regis smiled. It had been so cute to see them working together to carry it into the house. “We’ll grab it from the car tomorrow, right now you need to go to sleep.”

“It’s okay, Prompto, Chocobo will wait for us in the car!” Noctis looked to his father for confirmation. Prompto glanced between his brother and father. “Will he really wait for us?” 

“He should be right where we left him. Goodnight.” Regis’ heart twisted. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t get rid of his son’s favorite toy. He went to go fetch it from the car after they were asleep. 

It wasn’t there? 

He checked the entire car, and then the rest of the garage. Nothing. He hadn’t brought the doll inside, and his sons had been carrying their new shoes… nobody had grabbed the toy. Where was it? 

Regis went back into the house, confused. The only other person who might know was Cor, and it was a bit late to call him. No, this was important. He needed to find what was left of Chocobo. He texted, hoping it was a little less rude despite the hour. 

Cor actually called him instead. “Regis?” 

“Hello. Sorry to bug you, but do you know what happened to Prompto’s chocobo doll? The one we were talking about in the car?” 

“That sad rag he’s been carrying around? I took it. I was trying to fix it-“ 

“Really? Thank goodness, I thought you had gone ahead and thrown it away for me, haha. Please don’t. I was going to, but then I realized how distraught he’d be.”

“You didn’t let me finish. I was trying to fix it, but this is beyond repair. The edges of the hole are opening more, the outside is matted, one of the eyes is coming loose now, and I’m pretty sure the wing is starting to separate from the body.” 

Cor could practically hear the cogs in Regis’ head over the phone. He was still debating on letting his son have this mess back? 

“Regis, this thing is a choking hazard. Even if you were to throw the loose eye out, there are a lot of loose threads. Honestly, you need to get rid of this.”

Hearing all the damage at once made Regis reconsider. How hadn’t he noticed that it was so destroyed? Prompto had been carrying that thing everywhere, so it was literally loved to pieces. But it had originally been Noctis’ toy too… No! It was a hazard, as Cor said. Especially since Prompto still sucked his thumb. Yeah, he had long stopped putting other things in his mouth, but- No! It had to go!! Noctis would be mad that Prompto was sad- 

It was better for them to be safe. Having the ragged doll was not safe. 

“...Cor. Just- just throw it away. Before I change my mind again.” Regis sighed. “What do I tell them? I said we could get it from the car tomorrow.”

“Tell them I threw it away. Don’t lie.” 

“They’ll be mad at you.” 

“They’ll get over it. Eventually.” Cor hummed in thought. “If you don’t want to tell them then I will.”

“No. I’m their father, I’ll deal with the fallout. Goodnight, Cor, and thank you for helping me resolve this. It’s better for them to not carry around crumbling toys, right?” 

“Right. Goodnight.” 

-o-

The father woke up to little hands tapping his arm. “Psst. Daddy.” 

“Can we go get Prompto’s toy now? You said we could.” Noctis would have gone to the car himself, but the door leading to the garage had been locked. (Regis knew his sons very well, and he didn’t want them searching in vain.) 

“Daddy, please wake up. Chocobo is probably cold in the car.” Prompto adjusted his pajama sleeves, as if he had felt a chill in sympathy. 

Regis had hoped to put this off until after breakfast… 

He sat up, and gestured for the boys to climb up onto his bed. “My son, your chocobo doll is not in the car like I thought it was. The doll was not safe anymore, it was falling to bits. I had Cor get rid of it.” 

“Get rid of it? Did you throw it out!?” Noctis crossed his arms. He had told Cor not to do that! Why did Daddy let him do that?! He was about to rage out loud, but Prompto let out the tiniest ‘why, Daddy’ he had ever heard. That stopped Noctis from throwing a tantrum and he crawled over his father’s legs to pull his brother into a hug. 

Prompto couldn’t stop the tears, so he buried his face in Noctis’ shirt. Chocobo was gone? Yeah he was broken but he was still Chocobo! He was still lovable! “B-but but but- wwwwhhhhhyyyyy!?” 

Regis leaned over to hug both boys. “I didn’t want you to get hurt. The eye was coming off, and there was no fluff left anyway.”

Prompto just sobbed harder, and Noctis began shushing him soothingly. “It’s okay, we still have other toys. I won’t let Daddy or Cor throw them away. Shh. Prom, please don’t be sad.” 

“B-But Noooocctt, Cho-co-bo is is g-goooo-ooonneee…” That doll was the best. Noct has given it to him, and now it was in the stinky garbage! 

Regis started rubbing his blond baby boy’s back. “Prompto, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” 

“D-d-daddy? Are you g-going to throw Bow Ch-Chocobo away t-too?” Prompto sniffled and rubbed at his eyes after changing his spot on Noct’s shirt. It was all wet there now. The older brother glared at his father. “Bow Chocobo isn’t broken. Please don’t put him in the garbage.”

“No, I’m not going to start throwing everything away! It was just the broken doll, and that was only to keep you safe. My sons, I’m not happy about this.” Prompto looked up at Regis, and he really didn’t look pleased. Noctis huffed. “Promise?” 

“Promise, it was just that one.” 

“I’m still sad but I’m not mad at you.” Prompto crossed his arms and pouted. Wait, he had mixed that up. He was sad AND a little mad. But only a little. “But I am grumpy at you.” 

Regis nodded. “I know. I feel like the biggest doodoobutt in the world right now.” Both boys looked at him. He had said that word! The one he said wasn’t technically a bad word, just a mean one. “You’re not a doodoobutt, Daddy.” Prompto uncrossed his arms to hug his father, he had to wiggle out of Noctis’ grasp first. “Don’t say mean names.” 

“Okay. I won’t. Can we go eat breakfast now?” Regis asked hesitantly, knowing that the doll would not be forgotten so easily. 

“...Okay.” Prompto would have to make do with just Bow Chocobo now. Aw man, he’d have to make sure his doll didn’t see that his brother was gone! He was about to voice this concern when his own brother piped up. 

“Can we play video games after?” Noctis looked hopeful, already over the disappearance. Prompto wasn’t crying anymore anyway. Unbeknownst to the other two, the blond was busy appreciating his family and how no one would throw them away like dolls. “Noct? Can I be first player this time?” 

“Yeah, if we can play. Can we, Daddy?” 

“You two are little opportunists, you know that? I can’t refuse you after I just made you cry.” Regis ruffled their hair. 

“What does oper-tuna-sts mean?” Prompto sniffled one last time as Noctis shook his head indignantly. “Hey, I didn’t cry!” 

“Come on, let’s eat breakfast and then you can play your games.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I MADE MY BABY BOY SO SAD
> 
> But I had to do it. Toys break, and some children move on relatively quickly. He’ll be okay. But I won’t be...


	23. Chapter 23

Cor had received the worst dressing down of his life when he had next seen the boys. It was a full two weeks, but the wound was obviously still fresh in their young minds.

Noctis had demanded he apologize, landing himself in time out for speaking to an adult that way. Regis apologized to Cor, who shrugged it off. He had been expecting it. That didn’t make the child’s rude behavior okay, but he wasn’t especially wounded by the harsh tone. 

Prompto didn’t speak to him at all, choosing to cross his arms and stubbornly look away. He lasted five minutes. Cor cheated and started tickling him. “You can’t stay mad forever.”

“Y-ye-hehehessss I caa-hahahaha-aaaaan! Hmph ahahahahahahaa!” Prompto went to hide behind Noctis. “May I get out of time out now? I’ve been sitting properly forever.”

“You have not been sitting for forever. Noctis, please tell Cor you are sorry and then you may go play.” Regis went back to examining the Regalia’s windshield wiper fluid reservoir. He had Cor over today to help him with basic car maintenance and his sons had wanted to help too. He saw no point in bothering Cid with such simple stuff, especially since the mechanic was swamped with repairs right now. February temperatures had everybody with a busted car heater running to the garage. Besides, the work that needed to be done on the Regalia was all stuff that he knew how to do, he had picked up some simple stuff from hanging out with his mechanic buddy for so long. Cid would be proud.

“Sorry I yelled at you, Cor. I should not have done that. But you made me so mad and you made Prompto cry a lot.” Noctis stood in front of the man who was trying to see if the radiator looked okay. Cor had gone back to work after tickling Prompto. “How did he sleep after the doll was gone, Regis?”

The father sighed. “It was rough the first night, but my baby boy is okay now, right?” Prompto nodded, puffing out his chest. “Yeah, Daddy, I’m a big boy who can sleep with one doll now. And Noct, of course. Oh, and you sometimes but I didn’t go to your room last night because I wasn’t scared at all.”

Noctis poked his brother. “Yes you were! You said it was dark and cold!”

“Well yeah, but that’s cuz the blanket fell and it was super duper freezing. I wasn’t really scared.” Prompto blushed a little. Maybe he had been a teeny bit scared that one of the monsters from Daddy’s stories had taken their blanket, but he was half asleep! He bet even Daddy would be scared if he thought monsters were hiding in the shadows!

Cor ruffled the blond’s hair. “I’m sorry. Next time I won’t take the doll, I’ll let Regis do it himself.” Prompto blanched. Next time? Daddy had promised that he wouldn’t throw anything else out! “No, leave Bow Chocobo alone even if he’s all messed up!”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. Goodness.” This kid was really attached to his chocobos. Cor asked the child to pass him one of the rags they had on the garage bench. Hopefully the task would distract him from the crime that had him so worked up. 

Prompto grabbed one of the rags and skipped back over to deliver it. “Noct! This is just like our racing game when you get to pick what color your car is going to be!” Noctis realized that he was right. The customization screen had a garage just like theirs. Well, then if this was like the game… “I get to be driver first!” He ran over to the car door and opened it, climbing up to sit at the steering wheel.

“Don’t actually move the wheel, Noctis.” Regis had the keys in his pocket so the car wouldn’t go anywhere. Still, it was better to teach him now that the car wasn’t really a toy. “I won’t! I’m just pretending to drive.” He let out a maniacal laugh, imagining he was driving one of the big off-roaders from the game.

Prompto climbed in next to him. “Can you drive me to the… Crow’s Nest!?” He kind of wanted that for lunch, but he didn’t know if they would be going out today. Maybe not, the car was still open and Daddy and Cor were fixing it. At least, he thought they were. How could they fix it if they didn’t have Cid and Cindy, who were the best car fixer-uppers in the whole wide world? 

“I can’t drive you there, I’m making us jump off a cliff.” Noctis stated it so matter of factly, like that was a perfectly safe thing to do. Video game driving couldn’t be too different from real cars, right?

“Are cars supposed to do that!?” Prompto, however, was remembering how the digital car would always blow up after cliff jumps. That part didn’t seem like fun, and he hoped that wasn’t real. Regis overheard their game. “No, cars are not supposed to drive off of cliffs.”

“Do they explode?” 

“If you drive safely, they are not supposed to.” Cor joined the conversation after closing the hood. They were done. “Regis, I’m going to go wash my hands.”

“Hmm, good idea. Come on, my sons, let’s go get cleaned up. It is almost lunch time.” The boys climbed out of the Regalia to follow him. Noctis looked at his hands, not realizing that he had gotten so dirty. He didn’t know how, he had barely helped. “What are we eating?”

“Can we get Crow’s Nest for real?” Prompto was also examining the dirt that he had gotten everywhere. “I know we were pretending but I like the fries they have there. They are salty.”

“Weskham already made lunch, but I guess we can go after lunch to get milkshakes and fries.” That wasn’t a full meal, so they could count that as snacktime. “Yes, I think we’ll do that. We’ve been cooped up all day fixing the Regalia.”

-o-

The boys insisted that Cor come too. After all, he had been working and he drove them there and he ate all of his lunch. Even the gross vegetables. (They had made him stay for the meal, Regis believed that if someone was in his house then he had to feed them.) 

The Caelums and Cor walked out of the diner, and they stopped to readjust their winter gear. “Thank you for the fries and milkshake! I loved it so much!” Prompto tried to hide more of his face in the coat. The wind was being angry today and smacking his face. He huddled closer to his brother, trying to get warm. 

“Let’s head back to the car before we’re blown away.” Regis fixed Noctis’ hat and held out his hands for his sons to take. Cor squinted. “Is it supposed to snow today?” 

“No, I don’t think so.” The group made their way back to where they had parked the car. The vehicle had to wait several blocks over, there were a lot of cars along the street. It was odd that so many people were out and about in the low temperatures. The sidewalks were relatively crowded as well. 

“Ooh, look, a dog!” Prompto pointed at somebody walking toward them, canine on a leash. Noctis cooed along with his brother. “Hi, dog!” As the animal drew closer it started growling, and Cor jumped in front of the boys. Regis picked his sons up, the little boys not understanding why the dog was being mean. Weren’t all doggies supposed to be nice? They hadn’t even pet this one, so why was it angry? They clung to their father, not wanting to be bitten. 

“Hey, stop it! Down, boy, down! I am so sorry sir, this dog is evil I swear! Cerberus, SIT!” The flustered young man holding the leash tried to stop the dog from getting any closer to the people it had scared. Cor stood firmly in front of the Caelums, not willing to let them be hurt. “Oh man, this is the last dog-walking job I take. I can’t do this anymore.” 

Ah, that’s why the dog wasn’t listening. This man was not his owner, and so he had not earned the large canine’s respect. “Young man, are you alright?” Regis had to readjust the boys in his arms, they were starting to slide off of his hips. The coat had little traction. Cor glanced back at the other man, was he crazy? Asking if the other guy was alright even though the dog had been threatening them? “If the dog isn’t yours, may I ask whose it is?”

The young man seemed to calm down now that this stranger wouldn’t get mad at him for the dog growling at his kids. “Oh, my neighbor, Ardyn. He’s paying a lot, but this dog is so aggressive… I’m starting to think it isn’t worth the gil.”

Ardyn. Of course it was Ardyn. Every misery always somehow led back to him.

“Well, it seems the saying about pets taking after their owners is true.” A worrying thought hit Regis. If he was paying someone to walk his dog, then that meant he had to be close by. “Does Ardyn live around here?”

“You know him? Anyway, he lives in another section of the city, but I took the bus here with the dog. He moved in next door to me last week and he said he really needed to sort the house out without this monster in the way. He offered me 500 gil to take care of Cerberus for the day. This daemon has made running my errands difficult, but I’ve been trying to focus on the reward as motivation. My car got stuck the other day, and I called this garage that’s supposed to be around here. The guy said I could do the repairs myself if I had a kit, since I can’t afford to have him do it...” 

“You need a repair kit?” Regis couldn’t believe how perfectly this worked out. Cid had given them a travel repair kit ages ago, and he was sure the garage the man was referring to was Hammerhead. It was bound to have the tools he needed. Noctis apparently had a similar thought, albeit a lot less detailed, because he blurted out that they had one in the trunk. He had seen it earlier. “Can we share with him?”

Prompto poked his father’s chin and whispered. “We have to share, Daddy, that’s nice.” “Yes, of course he can have it. We can get another one from Cid. It’s in a neat little carrying case too, so you should be able to take it on the bus with you.”

“What a relief! Thank you!”

“Just follow us to our car, it is in the trunk.” Regis led the procession, Cor still keeping himself between the dog and the Caelums. He didn’t trust the animal at all. It growled at him, obviously sensing the bad blood between them. Regis put his sons down and unlocked the car. He put them inside before going around the car to unlock the trunk. “Here you are.”

The man carried off the kit after giving the leash a small tug. “Come on, ya daemon. Let’s head home.”

Back in the car, Prompto watched the man and the dog as Cor drove away.. “Phew! That couldn’t have gone any better!” Noctis nodded. “When are we going home? I want to play video games.” They had done a lot today, and he was exhausted. Hmm, maybe they could take a nap and then play games?

“We’re headed home now.” Regis tried not to worry about how his cousin was closer in the city. Why move now? Hopefully he wouldn’t try to visit. The man was bad news, and he didn’t need him around being a negative influence for his sons. When they got home, Regis wanted to see if he could look up where his terrible family member was now living.

-o-

“Why do bubbles float, Daddy?” Prompto popped one clinging to his arm.

“I don’t know. Maybe because of the air inside?” Regis wasn’t a man of science by any means, so he had no idea how to answer the random question. Well, he supposed it wasn’t all that random. The boys were taking a bath. “I know why, Prom. It’s magic. Right?”

“Yes, Noctis, it must be magic.” Regis laughed when they stared at the water incredulously, probably trying to see the mystical properties of the bubbles. Prompto carefully cupped some soap suds in his hands and held it aloft. “No way, does that make this bath a magic bath? Will I get superpowers?”

“Yes, you’ll smell like Duscaen oranges. Oh, and you’ll be squeaky clean until you get dirty again. But that’s okay because then you get another bath tomorrow.” 

“Whoo hoo! Bath time!” Prompto loved bath time! Noctis was slightly less enthused, still hung up on the fact that the only power they’d get was ‘smelling good’. “Why will we smell like oranges? I want to smell like… Ulwaat berries instead. Or like the sylleblossoms! When will those grow back?” 

“You’ll smell citrusy because that’s the scent of the bubble bath soap. The sylleblossoms should grow in spring. The yard always looks so lovely when they bloom, doesn’t it?” As he answered the questions Regis drained the bath water and turned on the overhead hose. Time to rinse off, dry off, and then nod off in bed. “Which pajamas do you want tonight?”

“The moogle ones. Their bobble reminds me of candy. Mm, I want candy.”

“Noct, we can’t have candy now. You’re being silly. It is time to brush our teeth.” Prompto bared his teeth before thinking of something else. He stopped showing off his pearly whites to voice his newest inquiry. “Why do we brush before bed?” 

“Someone is curious tonight, haha. We brush before bed so the germs don’t sit on our teeth all night. Then we brush in the morning to get rid of that yucky morning mouth taste.” Ah ha! A science question he could answer! He happily imparted his wisdom as he helped them brush and then get into their chosen pajamas. “All clean and ready to sleep. Lay down, I’ll pick the bedtime story.”

Prompto and Noctis cuddled under the covers. “Noct? I’m glad the wind can’t get in here.” 

“Yeah. Stinky cold wind. It always makes it too freezing.”

“No, no wind in here. Just my babies ready for bed. Okay. Tonight’s story is ‘The Cactuar That Loved To Draw’...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally figured out a way to work in that broken car npc and the type d laugh! 
> 
> Also, the pieces for Daycare Days are falling into place.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah! This is a day late because I started on an entry for a discord community competition. When that’s done I’ll post it with my other works, so please keep an eye out and let me know what you think when it’s posted! 
> 
> Thank you for your support!!

“GO FISH!” 

Noctis triumphantly held his cards closer, not willing to give any of them up. It sure was lucky that Prompto hadn’t asked for any of the ones he had!

Weskham had started showing them this fun game after they helped him with the dishes. They were supposed to be going to the park later because the weather was finally nice, but right now Daddy was doing some important work. He had promised they’d go after lunch whether the work was finished or not though, so right now the boys were just waiting. They had wandered into the kitchen while pretending to look for treasure and the chef had roped them into helping.

Prompto picked up a card from the pile, trying not to drop the cards in his hand as he did so. “Ooh, look, I got the four that I needed! Yay!”

“That’s cheating, how did you get that?” The older brother’s indignance dampened some of the younger brother’s excitement. Blond hair got into violet eyes as the little boy vehemently shook his head to deny the accusation. “I didn’t cheat, it was right there! I’m not a cheater!”

“It’s alright, boys, nobody cheated. That’s how the game goes. Now, if you got what you needed then you go again.” Weskham intervened before any more wild accusations were thrown around. Wow, they had a lot of energy today!

“Okay, fine. Take your turn.” Noctis supposed he hadn’t cheated. He had been watching the whole time, and Prompto didn’t shuffle through the deck. Weskham had said that was cheating when he was explaining the rules. “Uh… Do you have any threes please?” Prompto easily recovered from the horrible slander to his good name. Him, a cheater? Never! He watched as his brother checked his handful of cards. “No. Go fish.” 

Another card was drawn from the center deck. It was an eight, and Prompto flopped back onto the kitchen floor disappointedly. Luckily his head landed on Weskham’s leg instead of the hard tile, the chef had opted to sit behind him as the game was played. Weskham had figured the younger boy would need more help. “I didn’t get a three. Why not? It worked last time?”

“The cards are all mixed up. It’s the luck of the draw.”

Prompto looked at the cards again, confused. “But there’s no drawings on these? Just numbers and the shapes.”

“It’s a saying.” Weskham gently eased the boy back up into a sitting position. “Noctis, go ahead.”

“Do you have any kings?” He liked how the cards had half of the king connected to another half king that was upside down. That was silly. “I do! Here you go!”

“Do you have any aces?”

“What do aces look like again?” Weskham leaned over to check Prompto’s cards. “They are the cards with the ‘A’. You don’t have any.”

“Oh, sorry, Noct. Go fish.” Hmm, why was it called go fish if these were cards? Maybe because it would be too hard to use real fish? Before he could ask, Noctis requested a seven card. “Here you go! You have a lot of pairs now.”

“Yep. I’m going to win.” Noctis puffed out his chest, and Prompto went to clap. He dropped his cards. “Yay, Noct you- Oops! Ah, come back here! Stop being silly, cards!” He gathered them up, and Noctis saw most of them. Weskham noticed him peeking. “Now who’s cheating? I’m just teasing, it fell right in front of you. Of course you saw them. Do you boys want to play a different game?”

“Yeah, but I need the bathroom.” Noctis stood up, stretching. Prompto thought that if big brother was going then he should probably go too. “Wes, can we play after we are done?”

“Of course. I’ll keep the cards here on the counter and start on lunch.”

-o-

The bathroom trip went smoothly, both boys were able to conduct their business without any mishaps. Thanks to the stool they could reach the sink to wash their hands, and they headed back towards the kitchen. 

Noctis stopped in front of Regis’ office. “Let’s see if Daddy’s done.” He opened the door and stuck his head in. Regis was still on the phone and rapidly writing something down. “Thirty percent? That’s better than last year. Although, we had an increase in employees too… No, that shouldn’t affect the- What? His company is trying to entice them with that? Well no wonder they keep applying here, haha.”

Prompto poked Noct’s butt. “Is he done?”

“No.” The elder brother started to close the door. He stopped when he heard his father call out. “Oh, boys, can you do me a favor? Dustin, hold on a second. Come closer please, I don’t want to yell with the phone on. I’ll blow out my secretary’s ear.” The door was shoved open all the way and they went over to Regis’ desk. “Can you get me the file I left on my nightstand?”

“Sure!” 

The two children went to their father’s room to find the quest item. It was easy to locate, and they noticed an irregularity in the usually well-kept bedroom.“Found it! Look, Noct, it is right here. Uh oh. Daddy’s pajamas fell off the bed.” Prompto let his brother carry the thick folder back to the office as he put the clothes in the hamper. “Silly Daddy, leaving clothes on the floor. Messy, messy, falling everywhere, doo da dee dee la la hm hmm.”

Noctis returned to find Prompto scanning the rest of the floor. “What are you looking for?”

“I’m trying to clean up Daddy’s room. He always helps us clean up our room, so I’m going to help him now. I got the pajamas in there, but I can’t find anything else to clean. He doesn’t have any toys in here.” Prompto looked under the bed. Just shoes, still no toys. How sad! Daddy didn’t have anything to cuddle with? “Noct, Daddy’s room is a bit boring. He doesn’t have any plushies. How does he sleep?”

“Uh... Maybe he hides his toys and his mess in the closet?” Noctis went to open it to check. Prompto stopped searching under the bed to see what could be hiding in the closet. “Just clothes and boxes.” The boxes were closed, so they couldn’t even explore the cardboard treasure chests. There were words on it that looked like Daddy’s handwriting, and they knew the letters, but they couldn’t read. The boxes were ignored. 

“Daddy has a lot of these fancy shirts. Oops.” Noctis pulled at one of the dress shirts as he referred to them, and it accidentally came down. Prompto picked up the sleeve that wasn’t still in his brother’s hand. “It feels so soft. This is why Daddy gives good hugs.” 

“Here, try this on. I have an idea to surprise Daddy, haha.” The dress shirt was suddenly being worn by two eager little boys. Noctis reminded his brother to stay still as he tried to button the shirt up, adjusting the fabric so the holes were properly aligned. Prompto held up his arm, and the sleeve drooped comically. “Hahaha, this is too big! It looks like a really pretty dress like from Luna’s princess movie.” 

“Okay, we’re all ready to go.” They attempted a few steps, and Prompto tripped on the excess fabric dragging at their feet. Because they were connected via shirt, Noctis fell too. “Whoa! Are you okay, Noct?”

“I’m fine. I fell on top of you, did I squish you?” Noctis and Prompto fought their way back up into a standing position. “No, I’m not all squished.” Okay, attempt two! Prompto grabbed some of the shirt to hold it up, and Noctis went slower so his brother wouldn’t have to race to keep up with him. They made it back to the home office and knocked on the door, stifling giggles. “Oh, Daddy! Can we come in? Shh, Prom, he’ll hear you! Teehee...”

Regis was finally off of the phone, and he stood up from his desk to go see what mischief his sons had found now. He knew they were up to something because Noctis never shushed Prompto when they weren’t causing some form of mayhem. He opened the door to find his boys swimming in one of his favorite dress shirts. “Who is this handsome, short, and two-headed man outside my office? I wasn’t expecting anyone to visit today.”

“Daddy, it’s us!” Prompto burst out laughing, did he really not know it was them? Noctis started waving his arm to make the sleeve flap wildly. “Look how cool we look! We dressed up like you!”

“I see… But why?” Regis knelt to start unbuttoning the shirt, but he stopped. This was pretty cute, and he wanted to show it off to his friends. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to take a picture. Prompto immediately asked if he could use the camera when he was done. Noctis explained the chain of events that had led to the impromptu fashion show as Regis sent the snapshot to Sylva and Cid. “You left your clothes on the floor so we tried to clean up the rest of your room. But you don’t have toys in there, so we checked the closet.”

“Clothes on the floor?” Regis was sure he had put the pajamas on the bed. Oh well, stuff falls. “Well, never mind. Here, if you want the camera then please take off my shirt now. It’s too big, and that’s not safe. What if you fall?”

“I did.” Prompto wiggled out of the shirt so he could have a coveted camera turn. “I’m okay though, I’m tough!” Noctis stepped out of the fabric and handed the shirt back to the rightful owner. “Yeah, we fell but we didn’t get hurt. Don’t worry.” The boys posed for a selfie as Regis folded the dress shirt and put it on his desk. “I’m almost done with this report. Which works out nicely, actually, because lunch is in twenty minutes.”

-o-

Regis drove them to the park, and the family jammed out to the radio on the way. He had to remind Noctis to wait for everybody else and not just zoom off as he unbuckled Prompto from his carseat.

“The trees have lots more leaves now!” Prompto picked one up as they walked under the rippling shade. The sunlight was glimmering through the foliage, and the blond started trying to jump on the shifting spots of golden light. Noctis started chasing after him and the leaf was dropped in surprise. “I’m going to get you!”

“No, haha, you can’t! I’m fast, I’m fast, I’m-” The little boy stumbled, and that made time for the older male to close the distance. The younger brother was a better runner, but he was also clumsy. “Whoa! I’m okay, haha, you can’t- oh. You caught me!?” Prompto was being crushed in a giant hug, his brother lifting him up a little. “That’s cuz I can warp like fwooosh!”

“You can warp just like in our video games!? Did you see that, Daddy, did you? Noct warped super fast like really really fast!” They ran back to their father, and Prompto tugged on his pants leg. “Why can’t I warp too?”

“I don’t know, hahaha! That is a bit unfair, huh?” Regis let them indulge in the fantasy, and he knelt down to whisper. “I bet I can help you warp. I’m a king at warping...” Noctis and Prompto gasped. No way, Daddy could warp!? Like, sparkles and flying and everything!?! Regis stepped back from his sons. “Okay, for this to work you have to close your eyes and count to five so I can charge up the magic. I can’t do it if your eyes are open.”

Prompto obeyed, and for added measure he hid his face in his hands. He really wanted to know if Daddy could warp for real. Noctis merely closed his, and let his father know that he wouldn’t peek. “Okay my sons, count to five startiiiiii-” Regis crept around his baby boys as silently as possible to stand behind them. “-iiiiinnnngggg… Now!”

As expected, the brothers sped through the counting and opened their eyes right away to see whether Daddy had warped or not. When they saw he wasn’t in front of them where he had been they looked around, confused, until Regis tapped their shoulders. “I’m back here.”

“NO WAY!” “HOW DID YOU DO THAT!?” They whipped around to see their teleporting parent grinning widely. Prompto poked his father to make sure he was actually there, and sure enough, he was. Noctis grabbed onto his daddy before he could do it again. “Teach me how to do it!” 

“No, I can’t show you how to do it. Then it won’t work.” Regis laughed, he couldn’t believe they fell for that. He scooped his precious, innocent sweethearts into his arms. “You’ll learn how to do that trick when you’re older.”

“Older? Like, a hundred years old?” Prompto was still trying to figure out how his father had actually warped for real. Aw man, he wanted to be older so he could learn how to do it too. Even Noct had warped a little bit when they had been running before. Why couldn’t he do it yet? 

Regis pretended to be offended, but he knew that anything higher than four was ancient in their eyes. He remembered saying something similar to his parents years ago. It was just one of those universal ‘kid things’. As they aged they would learn that higher ages did not mean someone was an old person just yet. “A hundred!? How old do you think I am?”

“I don’t know. Noct, how old is Daddy?”

“Uh… Twenty-five?” That was the highest number he knew. Regis laughed heartily. “I wish!” 

Before he could tell them his real age Prompto ripped himself out of the hug. “DADDY THERE’S A BUG ON YOU!” Gross gross gross! He hated those creepy crawlies, they were so scary!! Noctis also moved back a bit, but Regis just brushed it off. “It’s only a beetle. Look, it’s black and shiny.”

The bug had landed on the grass next to them, and Prompto kept his distance. What if it started trying to attack him? He didn’t want any of that nonsense. Regis reassured him that it was safe. “It’s only an omega beetle. It looks like it is stomping angrily, doesn’t it?”

Noctis shook his head. “We should leave it alone. It is scaring Prompto.” 

“Alright. Let’s go over towards the play equipment. We’ll use that for a bit and then head home. No more beetles, okay?” Regis’ plan sounded agreeable. They moved through the park, which was surprisingly empty today. They only passed a few couples strolling along, one elderly man, and two children riding their bikes. Usually more people were out and about, especially on a gorgeous day like this.

As the family walked by one of the couples the woman smacked at her boyfriend’s shoulder. “You have one of those beetles on you.” Hmm, it seemed that the bugs were bothering everybody. Prompto moved behind Noctis, not wanting this bug to come over to them next. 

The boyfriend shrugged. “It’s no big deal, Gentiana. Did you get it?” The woman sighed. “Yeah, it’s gone. The omega beetle is one of the mightiest beetles, and the species is actually really old.” 

“Why do you know all that stuff? I thought you hated bugs.” The couple kept moving, and the Caelums didn’t hear the rest of the conversation. “That lady had pretty black hair like Noct’s and yours, Daddy.” 

“Yes, she did.” Regis held up a lock of his own hair. “But I think hers was a bit longer.” 

“What if we had really long hair, haha? That would be crazy!” Noctis’ hair was always in his eyes as it was, so he couldn’t imagine having his bangs even longer. Prompto ran a hand through his blond strands, thankful that it was the way it was. “It would take forever to brush if our hair was super long, right? Like, we wouldn’t get to play because we’d have to brush it all day.” 

“Well, it’s not hard to get a haircut...” Regis let go of their hands when they made it to the park equipment, and they raced to the swings first. 

-o-

“Here, Daddy. You need him.” 

At bedtime, Prompto held up his Bow Chocobo and Regis accepted it with a great deal of confusion. “Why do I need your doll, my son?” 

Noctis chimed in before Prompto could explain. “You don’t have any toys in your room. It’s so lonely.” He pulled up the blanket and lay back, ready to go to sleep. Bathtime had been quick because he had yawned a lot and now he was ready to remedy that. 

“Yeah, what he said! I think Bow Chocobo will make you happy like it makes me happy.” Prompto didn’t know why Daddy looked weird all of a sudden. He was smiling, but he looked sad too? “What’s wrong?”

“I am proud of you for being willing to give me your favorite doll because you think it will keep me company. That is unbelievably kind.” Regis set the doll on his lap. “However, won’t you miss it? You were awfully upset at the loss of your first chocobo.” 

“It’s okay. If I miss it I can go to your room to visit. Besides, I have Noct to hug if I get bad dreams.” Prompto lay down next to his brother, who added one final comment before going to sleep. “I’ll hug you if you need it, Prom.” 

“Noct, you’re my hero. Just like in the video games. Even though…” Prompto yawned. “Even though I can’t warp.” 

Regis kissed their heads and took the gifted doll to his room. He put it on top of his dresser. When his children asked tomorrow, he’d tell them that the toy watched over him and reminded him of their love. 

After all, that was the truth and he couldn’t lie to his baby boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise appearance from Gentiana, Ifrit, and Omega! The weapon design and movement pattern reminded me of a beetle, so that’s why it manifested that way in the story.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who got hit with writer’s block? This chapter was super naughty but I managed to whip it into shape. It’s the dentist chapter they reference in Daycare Days!
> 
> I’m still working on that other fic too, so I’d like to apologize for the wait.

“A dentist is someone who cleans your teeth.” Regis put the hairbrush away as he reminded them that they were going to go out tomorrow. Their April checkup was upon them. He doubted they remembered last year’s, it had been an uneventful visit. 

“But our teeth are clean, we just brushed them.” Noctis bared his chompers to prove his point. They were minty fresh, courtesy of vigorous scrubbing. Regis sat down with the storybook. “Well, he also checks to make sure you don’t have any problems.” 

“I have a problem! My bandage keeps falling off.” Prompto held up his knee to display the covered injury. They had been gaming earlier today, and he had wanted to get a drink while the loading screen took its sweet time. He had tripped on Noctis’ foot as he tried to pass, and the rug had scraped his leg a bit. There hadn’t been much blood, but Noctis still yelled for his father to provide the best medical care he could. Prompto, worked up by his brother’s dramatic concern, begged to be held until he felt better. That lasted about two minutes. Once the game was unpaused the injury was magically okay.

“The dentist only checks your mouth. I’m not sure he can do much for a malfunctioning bandage. Actually, pass that here. We’ll put a new one on in the morning.” Regis didn’t like the kind he had picked up from the pharmacy a week before. He had just put it on his son’s leg after their shower and it was already peeling off. They’d have to get better ones while they were out tomorrow. “Don’t pick at it, okay?”

“I know, Daddy, I won’t. What’s our bedtime story?” Prompto settled on the bed, moving over so Noctis could re-position his arm. Finally oriented, they payed attention to their father’s reading. When he finished he kissed their heads. “Good night.” 

“Night night.” 

-o-

“This building looks boring.” The plain dentist’s office looked just like any other structure in the city. Noctis was unimpressed. Prompto pointed to the small garden that was attempting to grow under the large glass windows in front. “Look, they have flowers. That’s not so boring. I like the yellow ones because they look happy and bright and yellow, teehee.”

“You said yellow twice.” “I know, Noct, I’m just being silly.”

“Someone’s in a good mood today. No wonder you like the happy yellow flowers, they’re just like you.” Regis held open the door, and they entered the dentist’s office. 

If Noctis had thought the outside was drab, then he needed a less exciting word for the inside. The play area was shoved into the corner far away from the check-in window. The toy selection was small, and there were a few puzzles laying on the child-sized table by a short bookshelf. One lone rainbow poster hung on the wall above it with a creepily smiling Kenny Crow. Regis pointed out that it said ‘Caw! Clean your teeth, kids!’ as he ushered them to the play section. There weren’t any other children, but there were some adults scattered throughout the waiting room.

Prompto and Noctis explored their options as Regis went to sign them in. They could hear the secretary’s nasally voice from across the room. Ignoring it, the boys sat next to each other at the little table. They started on one of the puzzles, halfway through when Regis sat in the waiting chair closest to the play area. He paged through one of the home improvement magazines, nothing really catching his eye. He picked a different one, wondering why they still printed these fishing guides. Who actually read these? 

Noctis brought over their completed puzzle to proudly display their combined genius. Prompto stood behind him, eager to see his father’s reaction. 

Before Regis could voice his affirmation of their intelligence, the door leading to the other rooms slammed open. The nurse didn’t even look up from the clipboard before calling. “Caelum?” The family answered, Noctis dropping the puzzle on the seat Regis abandoned. Prompto grabbed big brother’s hand and they followed the nurse back.

The procession passed an open office door in the hall and they overheard the enraged voice of an elderly man. “Five thousand gil!? This is an outrage, I’m calling the insurance company! This office is a den of thieves, you crook!! I’m not paying for this!!!”

The dentist was holding a set of dentures, trying to get the man to calm down and accept it. 

Regis politely ignored the embarrassing event, pitying the doctor. Noctis wasn’t phased at all. He guessed that even adults could have temper tantrums sometimes. But the display set off alarm bells in Prompto’s mind. Why was the dentist holding teeth in his hand? Why did the old man say thief? 

Those were bad guys who stole stuff… 

DID THE DENTIST STEAL THE ANGRY MAN’S TEETH!?!?!?!? 

THEY WERE HEADED TO THE DENTIST NOW!!!!!!! THEY WERE WALKING INTO THE OFFICE RIGHT NOW!!!!! THEY WERE GOING TO LOSE THEIR TEETH!!!!! WHY DID DADDY BRING THEM TO GET THEIR TEETH STOLEN????!!!?!?!?!!

The nurse ushered them into an empty examining room as Prompto realized the coming horrors. He tugged on his brother’s sleeve, squeezing his hand a little tighter. “N-Noct? Noct! The dentist is going to-” 

Prompto’s frantically whispered warning was cut off by the nurse adjusting the big chair in the center of the room. The mechanical whir of it lowering was loud, and did nothing to calm Prompto. He latched on to Noctis’ arm fully as the nurse approached them. “Alright, the paper says Noctis is older. He can go first.”

“NO! Noct-” Prompto clung to his brother as the nurse tried to pick Noctis up. The older boy shooed her hands away to hug his brother. “Why are you crying?” 

“The dentist is going to steal your teeth like he took that other man’s out and it is going to be scary and hurt a lot!” The nurse rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed at how the appointment was going to be a bit longer than planned. She was probably numb to the hysterics, used to children coming in and whining about one thing or another. 

Regis could tell she didn’t empathize, and took matters into his own hands before she could make a rude comment. The father pried Prompto off and the nurse, making up for lost time, hurriedly lifted Noctis onto the chair. The father held his baby boy in his arms as he tried to explain. “Nobody is stealing any teeth, my son. Noctis is just going to sit in that chair for a little bit and then it will be your turn.”

“Daaaadddddyyyy, doooonn’tt let let theeemm taaake hhhiiis teeeettthh!” Why didn’t Daddy understand? He had seen the teeth outside of the angry old man’s mouth too, why was he saying that everything would be okay? Usually Daddy was right about stuff, but this was too scary to just brush aside. 

“The dentist won’t take his teeth out, or yours. The nurse is just going to get him ready in the chair and then the doctor will clean his mouth. You don’t need to be afraid of that.”

“But but b-but-“

“Prompto, I’m okay! Look! I’m not being hurt at all!” The nurse worked around the family as they tried to assuage the youngest’s fear. She set up what the procedure required and the dentist walked in. Prompto buried his face in his father’s shirt before realizing he couldn’t watch Noctis that way. He needed to be ready to help his brother in case the dentist really was going to take his teeth, despite what Daddy said. 

The dentist spared him a glance before moving to work with Noctis. “Is this the little guy’s first time? Say ‘aaah’, please.” 

“No, but he doesn’t remember the last visit and we just saw a dentist with some dentures in his hands. He’s a bit worried that they were real teeth taken from a patient.” Regis stepped closer so Prompto could see better. The dentist chuckled heartily as he scraped some plaque off of Noctis’ teeth. “Oh, you witnessed that? Sorry, usually there’s less drama here. But, what can you do, am I right?” 

Hmm, this dentist guy seemed nice... nicer than the nurse, at least… but… Prompto was watching him as he tried to stop hiccup-sobbing. Noctis wasn’t screaming in pain, he was just staring at the doctor. To be fair, where else would he look? The man was right in his face as he poked in his mouth with the equipment. The metal tools looked pointy, and pointy usually meant painful. Prompto had to be sure. “N-Noct? Are you okay?” 

“Uwhuh! Um ukah, Puhm.” The dentist’s fingers made it a bit difficult for Noctis to answer, so Regis roughly translated. “See, Prompto, he is fine.” 

A few minutes later, Prompto asked again. The dentist was still poking around, and he pulled out a tool that made a whirring sound. Prompto worriedly inquired about his brother’s wellbeing once more. “Noctis is alright, he’s using that to brush his teeth. He’s not hurt at all.” Soon it was time to rinse and spit, and after that came switching turns. Noctis slid off of the chair as the dentist explained some things to Regis, mostly just asking him to help the boys floss more. The elder brother posed as the doctor spoke. “Prom, I was a big boy and I did a good job sitting still!” 

The nurse blandly congratulated him before Prompto could and handed Noctis a small bag with some goodies. “Utterly superb, now here’s your stuff.” Even if this lady had poor manners, Noctis wouldn’t. “Thank you so much.”

Regis went to put Prompto down on the chair for his turn and the tears started anew, albeit not as panicked as before. Noctis grabbed his hand. “Look, I didn’t get hurt so you won’t!” Prompto nodded, trying to stop. Daddy was right here, Noct had been a big boy, his teeth hadn’t been stolen, and he even got a prize after! Prompto could be a big boy too! Even if the metal tools still looked sharp and dangerous and what if he moved or the dentist messed up or what if the weird whirring tool hurt his tongue or-

Noctis patted his Prompto’s leg as the dentist started talking to his frightened patient. “Now, I know we got off to a rough start. But I am here to help you just like I helped your brother. Please say ‘aah’.” Prompto shook his head. Regis asked him what was wrong, hoping that encouraging him to speak would help them stop the fear. The blond wiped his eyes with his free hand. “N-Noct are you sure th-that the spiky thing-g doesn’t hu-urt?”

“It doesn’t. Please don’t be scared. Say ‘aaaaaah’ just like I did.” Noctis still held his brother’s hand. “I will stay right here. You don’t have to cry.” Prompto hesitantly opened his mouth. It was fine, Noct was with him. He could do this. Even if he was scared he could do what he needed to. “Okay, I w-will be a big boy just like you.” 

The dentist set to work quickly now that the little boy was cooperating. Prompto stared at him while he was inches from his face, understanding why Noctis had been studying the man’s features. It hurt to look at the bright light attached to the chair just above him, and diverting his eyes protected them from the glow. Overall, the actual cleaning was not as bad as he had been imagining. The metal tool scraping his teeth did not poke his tongue once, and despite how pointy it was it did not cause any pain. Even the loud whirring toothbrush thingy was gentle. The dentist didn’t even pull on his teeth in an attempt to remove them (Prompto had thought maybe he saw the man doing that to Noct, but maybe he had imagined it). The little boy lay there, starting to feel a bit silly for being so scared. 

“Alright, you’re done.” The dentist had taken a bit longer than usual, having to move around the older brother that hadn’t let go of the younger’s hand. Noctis helped Prompto off of the chair and Regis put his hands on their shoulders. “Not so bad, right, my sons?” “Prom, you were a big boy just like me!” “I did it even though I was scared, haha!” The nurse rolled her eyes and handed over the reward bag for Prompto’s bravery. The dentist repeated his speech about flossing and let Regis know that they shouldn’t eat anything for half an hour. 

The family didn’t see anymore screaming patients on their way to check out of the dentist’s office.

-o-

“Where are we going now, Daddy?” Prompto was all smiles now that they had left, happy that Noctis had called him a big boy and that he had gotten a cool toothbrush too. He held it, admiring the prize in its package as his father answered. Regis flicked the turning signal as he eased to a stop in front of the red light. “We were going to go to the pharmacy for more bandages. Then we can stop for lunch. That should take half an hour…”

“Why can’t we eat?” Noctis poked Prompto with his wrapped toothbrush, and the blond retaliated by poking back. It turned into a game, and Prompto giggled when Noctis opened the packaging enough to reveal the bristles. They tickled, and the blond opened his toothbrush to get Noctis on the nose. The older boy moved his head back and swiped Prompto’s cheek. “Noct, haha, you got me!” Regis glanced in the rearview mirror. “My sons, those are supposed to go in your mouth. They’re not toys. And to answer your question, you can’t eat yet because the dentist cleaned your teeth. He said it takes some time for the fluoride to do whatever it is that it does.” He parked the car and moved to unbuckle his boys from their carseats. 

The pharmacy was much more interesting than the dentist’s office. As soon as they passed through the door they could see shelves and shelves full of items. The children held their father’s hand as they walked through the aisles, heads swivelling as they took it all in. They walked by a display of canes, and Noctis reached to grab one. “I’m an old man, I need a cane.”

“Don’t joke about stuff like that, then you really will need one someday.” Regis gently chided, hoping that there weren’t any elderly patrons in the store. He didn’t need someone getting offended. They passed a row of nail polishes, and Prompto pointed to a pink one. “Luna likes that color. Ooh, and that blue one too.” As they kept moving through the aisle, Prompto tried to count the little cosmetic bottles. “There one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen… Phew, I’m getting tired of counting a lot. Why are there lots of colors, Daddy? We only have ten fingers.” 

“There is a wide variety to choose from because different colors match different outfits.” Regis wondered where this pharmacy kept their first aid section. The family continued through the store. Regis took a detour when he noticed the candles. “Ooh, scented candles always smell nice.”

Prompto sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything?” The pictures on the jars were pretty though.

“You have to open the lid first. Let’s see, how about Nebulawood Pine?” Regis opened one of the candle lids and held it low enough for his sons to enjoy. They all liked that one, and Noctis asked what Tenebraen Berry Opera smelled like. That one was good too, and then they tried another candle. Prompto inhaled. “Mmm, this one smells calm…”

“It is called Galdin Breeze. It does smell rather soothing, doesn’t it?” Regis put it back. Noctis saw something in a different aisle, and the candles were abandoned. He held up a toy car. “This looks like the Regalia.” Prompto picked up another car and knelt to test it out. He drove it, but when he pulled it back the tires made a clicking sound. Thinking that he broke it, Prompto let go to tell his father. The car zoomed off down the aisle. “Aah! It is running away!”

“Prom, how did you do that?” Noctis made his car drive away just as the first did, and Regis shook his head with a small smile. “Just bring it back. How did we end up over here? We’re supposed to be looking for bandages.” The boys skipped off to retrieve the cars and replace them on the shelf. Prompto held up his leg so they could see his knee. He almost fell over, but Noctis caught him and held him steady. “I didn’t pick it, just like you said.” 

“You remembered, good job! We don’t pick at injuries because then they won’t heal.” Regis finally found the aisle with all the stuff he was looking for. “The bandages have patterns. Which one should we buy?”

“You pick, Noct!” All the designs stared down at the children from the shelf. There were plain bandages, cactuar ones, rainbow ones, tonberries, metallic, floral, princess… It was a bit overwhelming. “But it is for your leg, Prom.”

“But there’s so many! What to buy, what to buy?” Prompto stood there trying to decide which he wanted for his leg. Noctis just grabbed the cactuar ones. “Here. Cactuars make funny sounds.” Regis didn’t follow the line of thought. What did the sound have to do with the pattern? Either way, he asked if they had agreed on the choice. Of course, Prompto went along with Noctis’ decision. “Yeah, this one. Isn’t it adorable?”

“Yes, it is. Let’s go pay for them. I’ll put one on tonight after I clean off your knee, but right now let’s focus on lunch.” Regis took the box and they walked to the register. “What should we eat?”  
“CROW’S NEST!” Noctis didn’t have to think too hard about that choice, and Prompto backed him up immediately. “Pllleeeaaaaaassseeee???” 

“Haha, yes, but please don’t yell. We’re still indoors.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry about the wait. 
> 
> I’ve been overwhelmed, between work and school, and unfortunately I didn’t get to work on my story as a result. However, this tale will get told even if it ends up taking longer than I want. 
> 
> Thank you for being patient.

“Yeah, Iris is a bit younger than when Gladiolus started, but Jared already enrolled Talcott. He says it’s good for them to interact with other children.” Clarus replaced the coffee carafe and turned to face Regis. “Your boys are how old now?”

“Noctis will be five in August, Prompto in October. I just don’t know if they’re ready for daycare though. Isn’t it like school? There are a lot of expectations…” Regis usually didn’t come to the break room, but he had spilled his coffee while getting out of the car this morning. Luckily his clothes and the Regalia’s upholstery escaped staining, but now he was out of a drink for the day. He had come up to get a replacement and ran into Clarus along the way. He had asked how his children were doing, and somehow the conversation led to daycares. 

“Regis, it’s not military camp. They have learning programs, and the kids play with toys. What kind of twisted place are you imagining? They don’t turn the kids into mindless robots or something.” Clarus quirked an eyebrow as he lifted the mug to drink from it. 

“I’m not saying that it’s bad, I just don’t know if the boys would be comfortable with so many children in one spot. They’re used to each other, and one or two other kids at a time. Not twenty or however many would be in their class.” Regis knew they could handle a few, they played with Cindy and the Fleurets just fine, but dropping them among lots of new faces? The four year olds might get overwhelmed. 

“It is great preparation for school.”

“I know, but the boys are learning all that stuff with their nanny. Prompto loves the games and songs she uses, and Noctis will pay attention most of the time.” Regis allowed himself to be proud of how his sons already knew the alphabet and all the other things kids their age struggled with. 

“He ‘pays attention most of the time’? What a glowing endorsement… Well, Regis, just give it some thought. It might be a good experience. I’m just saying.” Clarus shrugged. “It helped Gladiolus. He made a friend right away. Ig… Ig-something. He talks about him all the time, why can’t I think of his name? Ignacio? Ig… Ignis. That’s it.”

“...It would be nice if they had more children to play with.” Regis would have to look into this suggestion. Maybe it would be good for his sons to make new friends. “I’ll see you later, Clarus. I’ve got an entire mountain of paperwork to get to.”

“Have fun with that.”

-o-

Regis didn’t mention his conversation at all that night, deciding to mull it over before proposing anything. The boys didn’t notice his pensiveness as they conducted their bath-then-bed ritual, writing off the mood as fatigue. They knew Daddy was always tired from work after he’d been gone all day. The calm of the night helped them get to sleep quickly.

In fact, the night was too peaceful. 

It was dark when Noctis’ moaning woke his brother. “Noct?” When Prompto didn’t hear an answer he sat up. “Noct? Are you okay?”

Prompto stretched his hand out to make sure that the lump next to him was indeed his brother. The searching fingers found Noctis’ head, and even with the little contact Prompto felt that something was wrong. “You’re really hot?” 

He took off the blanket, and Noctis reached to grab it back without opening his eyes. ”S’cold, Prom.” The blond waffled, holding the blanket in place as his brother tried to take it back. “But you’re not cold… You feel hot.” Should he give it back? Prompto tried to remember how they had taken care of him when he had been sick, but he couldn’t recall what the rule for blankets was. Noctis snatched it as Prompto tried to figure out what to do. 

“I’m going to go get Daddy.” The little boy hurried out of bed as his brother let out another moan. “Just want to slllleeeeepp.” “I know, Noct, I’ll be right back!”

Regis’ bedroom door was open, and Prompto went right in. “Daddy? Daddy! Noct is all moany and hot. Help!” Prompto climbed onto the big bed and shook his father’s shoulder. “Mfghrll… Wh? Prompto??”

“Daddy! Noct is hot and moany! Get up, please, I don’t know what to do!” 

Regis’ sleep addled brain took too long to get into gear, and Prompto kept talking. “Do I give him a blanket or should I take it away because he says he’s cold but-” “Slow down, I’m coming, hold on.” The father lifted his panicking child and carried him back to the other bedroom. Regis flicked on the light and put his son down next to his brother. “Noctis?”

“Whhhaaaatt? I want to sleep but everything huuuurrtts.”

Regis put his knuckles against his eldest’s forehead. “It feels like you have a fever. Prompto, stay here with him. I’ll be right back.” The father went to go raid the medicine cabinet and find a cup of water. 

Prompto brushed Noctis’ hair out of his face. “It’s okay, Noct, you’ll feel better because Daddy is getting stuff to help you.” He kept rubbing the overly warm head, trying to make it hurt less. When Regis returned to administer the medicine Prompto asked if they could go to the big bed. “Yes, you two may come to my room. I want to keep an eye on Noctis.” The ill child was carried to the other bed as his little brother trailed behind. 

Settling in, the family went back to sleep. 

-o-

The next time Prompto woke, it was to Daddy trying to get Noctis to drink some water. The little boy was cradled against his father as he held the cup steady. “You have to stay sitting up until you swallow.”

“I know but my head hurts.” Noctis was never this whiny, so Prompto knew right away that he hadn’t recovered. The blond sat up, kicking the thin blanket off. He crawled over to put his hand on his brother’s forehead. “Why is Noct still sick? You gave him medicine.”

“It isn’t magic, it takes time for the illness to go away.” Regis put the cup of water on his nightstand. Shifting so that he could lay his son flat, he sighed. It was always so heartbreaking to see his babies hurting and not be able to do anything about it. Noctis covered his ears and rolled over. “Shh. You’re too loud.”

“Sorry. Come, Prompto, let’s leave Noctis here so he can rest. Come brush your teeth.” Regis carefully got off of the bed, trying not to jostle Noctis too much. Prompto followed, albeit less cautiously. “Will Noct be okay?”

“Yes, he’ll be fine.”

“Don’t worry, Prom. I’m just going to go back to sleep.” Noctis rolled over, ignoring how Prompto hovered in the doorway. Regis put his hand on the youngest’s shoulder and gently pushed. “Worrying will not help. All he needs right now is rest, and we won’t be gone long.” 

The promise of them returning quickly finally convinced Prompto to leave his brother alone. They went to brush their teeth, and Prompto used his toothbrush from the dentist. They had rinsed them off when they had gotten home (after another reminder that they were not toys). 

Prompto’s rumbling tummy convinced him to visit the kitchen right after, and Regis voiced his desire for breakfast too. Weskham noticed that a member was missing as he put the plates of scrambled birdbeast eggs down. “Where’s Noctis?”

 

“He’s sick and sleepy. Daddy says he needs to rest.” Prompto shoveled his food into his mouth, eager to get back and check on his sibling. The chef kindly reprimanded the bad habit he couldn’t seem to break in either child. “You need to take small bites and chew. Noctis will still be there when you finish.”

“I know but I miss him.” 

“Prompto, he’s still in the house. You just saw him five minutes ago.” Regis chuckled, the boy was acting as though Noctis had left forever. The father sobered when he realized that today would probably consist of trying to keep Prompto away so the older boy could sleep. It would be the first time that he’d be without his brother for an extended period since he was brought home. 

“You’ve been apart for a grand total of five minutes and you’re already missing him? My goodness, lad, what are we going to do with you?” Weskham shook his head. 

“I finished, can I go see if Noct’s all better? Please?” Prompto held up the emptied plate. He scooted off of the chair after Weskham took it and walked off, not waiting for his father. “Prompto, hold on.”

The concerned child halted. “Oh, you want to come too? That’s okay. Then Noct can see that we both want him all better.” “Let me check if he’s awake before you go rushing in, okay? Waking him up won’t help him recover.”

The two tiptoed back to the bedroom, and Regis put his finger over his lips. Prompto nodded and put his hands over his mouth, not wanting to say anything that might be too loud. The door slowly creaked open, and they could see that Noctis was out cold. Regis pulled the door back so that it was almost closed and pointed down the hall, ushering his son away. 

“Let’s play some games while we wait.” They had gone to the living room, so it was okay to speak at a normal volume again. Prompto shook his head. “But if we play a game then Noct won’t get to see it.” 

“No, not a video game. That has movie scenes in it, right?” The father wasn’t as familiar with the video games anyway, he’d leave the console alone. Plus there was saving or checkpoints or whatever they had told him about… He wasn’t sure if there was a way to undo those and so he agreed with Prompto. It would be better if Noctis was there to witness the video game at the same time as his brother. “I meant a board game or something similar.”

Prompto climbed onto the sofa as Regis listed possible games. “But then Noct won’t get to play those either.” 

“You can’t just sit here bored until he wakes up.” Regis sat next to him and patted his own lap. The determined boy accepted the invitation. “But if I do cool stuff while Noct’s asleep then he will not have fun.” Regis sort of understood the logic, but he needed a way to change Prompto’s mind. 

“Did I ever tell you about when Noctis was a baby?” Maybe hearing stories would distract the child from his brother’s absence?

Prompto looked up at the man cradling him. “No? Noct is a big boy, not a baby. Silly Daddy.” “He started out as a baby, you know. He had to grow to get to where he is now.” 

“Oh, right, haha.” 

“Anyway, when he was little- younger, I should say- he would never eat his vegetables.” Regis tried to remember something that Prompto might not have known as he recounted basic facts about his firstborn. “He slept a lot, wasn’t too fussy… Didn’t like when we went out in the rain… He loved that chocobo doll he gave you.” 

“Baby Noct sounds like big boy Noct.” Prompto thought of something. “If Noct was a baby, was I a baby too?”

“Yes, you are younger. You were also a baby when Noctis was.” 

“Babies can’t play, right? What did we do?” Prompto couldn’t remember being that small, so he wondered if Daddy remembered too. 

Regis thought carefully about how to answer that question. He knew exactly what Noctis had done, but Prompto… Prompto had arrived after that stage of his life. He was already a toddler when he had entered their home, and Regis wanted him to remember the happy times he had experienced as a Caelum family member. “Well, I don’t know exactly what you did, but babies spend a lot of time doing three or four things. Sleeping, eating, crying, and pooping.” 

“Gross! Did the poop get everywhere!?” Prompto scrunched up his nose as if he had actually smelled something really foul. Thankfully he didn’t ask for clarification on the first part of Regis’ answer. 

“No, that’s what diapers are for. Although this one time, Noctis pooped while he was sleeping and it went out of the diaper. Because he was laying down it went all up his back.” Regis traced what he was talking about on Prompto’s back for added effect. 

“YUCKY!! I’m glad he doesn’t do that now! He poops in the potty now. Me too! But Daddy, why did you leave it on his back?” 

“I didn’t! I cleaned it up. What, you think I would just leave Noctis covered in his own poop?” Regis started tickling Prompto. “I always make you two take baths, right?” 

“Yehehehess! We hahaha we get nice and haha cleeeaaahahahaaann! Stop, Daddy, stop hahaha!” Prompto pushed himself off of his father’s lap. Regis let him slide down, curious about the problem. “What’s wrong?” 

“Noct is trying to sleep and I’m laughing super loud. Shh!” 

“Oh, Prompto, you are too precious.” Regis stood up quickly, scooping Prompto up along the way. “Let’s go get a book, and then you can read it to Noctis when he wakes up. This way, he won’t miss it. Good plan?”

“If we read it twice, then everyone gets to see it?” Prompto tilted his head to the side as he contemplated this information. 

“Yes.” 

“I like that plan, Daddy. I can’t wait to read our book!” 

Success! The stories about his brother’s past had cheered him up enough to calm him down. The boy was still worried, but he couldn’t stop giggling every so often about the poop tale. He’d have to repeat that to Noctis as well. After all, nothing was funnier to talk about than doodoo. 

-o-

Noctis woke up before lunch and oozed off the bed to find his family. 

Prompto and Regis were surrounded by books in the living room. “Noct! You’re awake!” The blond abandoned a story about a man and his dog to properly greet his brother. “We picked good stories that I need to share with you! Also, I took pictures of Daddy with his phone while he was reading because he made silly faces, haha!” 

“Hmm? That’s funny, Prom. Can I see?” Noctis rubbed at his eyes as his father moved to feel his forehead. The parent asked, but he already knew the answer. His son was out of bed after all, so he must have improved. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Yeah.” Noctis accepted the phone Prompto was shoving in his face. “You look like a crazy person in this picture.”

“Haha, I do look rather funny. Do you think you could eat something?” Regis looked at what was on the phone’s screen before Prompto swiped to the next picture. “Daddy, I’m hungry too. Can I eat with Noct?” 

“Yes, it’s lunchtime. Noctis, let’s go brush your teeth and then we can eat.” 

“Oh! Oh! Noct! When you were a baby, guess what you did!” Prompto started giggling and skipping around Noctis as they all walked to the bathroom. “You POOPED on your back, HAHA! I know because Daddy told me!” 

“Nuh-uh! Daddy, did I?” The boy must have really been feeling better, his denial had a bit of vehemence behind it. Regis was glad to see it. “Yes, you did, but it’s not your fault. All babies do it at some point.” 

“It’s okay, Noct, now we poop in the toilet!” 

“Yeah, cuz we’re big boys.” Noctis brushed his teeth all by himself to prove his point. Regis nodded. “Yes, my two baby boys are growing up fast. But you know what would really make you a big boy?” Both Prompto and Noctis perked up as their father leaned to whisper conspiratorially. There was a secret? “What!?” 

“Eating your vegetables would make you a big boy.” Regis laughed at the resulting groan from his eldest and excited clapping from his youngest. “I eat veggies! That means I really AM a big boy, right!?” 

“So gross! Isn’t there a no veggies way?” Noctis pouted on the way to the kitchen, Prompto still skipping behind him. Lunch was waiting on the table, and it just so happened to be a vegetable medley. The chef had chosen it for the hearty broth that would work wonders for whatever traces of illness remaining in Noctis. 

“Nope. You have to eat them.” 

“Euuuggghhh.” 

“Noct! You can do it! I know you can, you can do lots of stuff cuz you’re amazing!” Prompto began eating his own food, overjoyed that his brother was feeling better. He was also glad he didn’t have to eat another meal all by himself. Well, yeah, Daddy had been there for breakfast… and Weskham, but now Noct was back so everything was all better. 

Now he had the rest of the day to play with his best big brother ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, they don’t do anything strenuous for the rest of the day. (They actually just play video games, but more on that topic next chapter. I have an idea~)


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally posted my entry for the discord contest! You can find it on my works page, if you are interested :)

“Why are we putting on old shirts?” Noctis pulled at the collar, trying to adjust it. This particular shirt also had a stain on the front, and had been shoved to the back of their drawer. Regis had wanted to try some stain removal trick Monica had mentioned, but it was apparent (by the stain’s presence) he had never gotten around to testing the life hack. 

“Look.” Prompto lifted his arms and his too-small shirt moved, exposing his belly. “Why does my old shirt have a seventeen on it? I’m not seventeen.” 

Regis was still rifling through their drawers, pulling out more apparel that they had outgrown. The pile on the floor next to him was a rainbow of blacks and dark greys, with the occasional white or red. Ooh, a blue shirt was added to the pile as it failed Regis’ inspection. Soon pants began joining the pile, right after the underwear and socks. “Do you remember how I told you about our upcoming trip?” 

“The fancy hotel place?” Prompto quickly forgot about the seventeen and how his inquiry was missed. Last night Regis had come home with exciting news: they were going golfing with people from his company. However, the golf wasn’t the exciting part. The best thing about this trip was the hotel they’d be staying in. Regis had shown them online reviews of the King’s Crown Hotel. The website had displayed pictures of a giant pool, sprawling fields, luxurious rooms, and a breakfast buffet table that seemed to stretch for miles. 

The Caelums were looking forward to the trip. 

“Yes, the hotel. Well, we’re putting on old shirts because today we will be cleaning the house. I want everything in order before we leave. This way when we come back, we come back to a clean house.” Regis adjusted his own shirt, an oversized hole-filled mess from his traveling days. “Also… we were supposed to do this in spring, but I never had the time or the energy.” 

“So we’re cleaning? That’s like when Monica helps us put all our toys away.” Noctis nodded. They were going to do that, but for the whole house? He wasn’t sure how that would work. All their toys were already in their room. Well, almost… he thought that everything was already away, but maybe some toys had snuck out when he wasn’t looking. 

Prompto didn’t know why Daddy was dumping the shirts on the floor then, if they were cleaning. Tidying up usually meant taking stuff OFF the floor. Or wiping stuff with a sponge, that was cleaning too? “Or like when Weskham shows us how to wipe up the counter after food gets all over it!” 

“Yes, those are examples of cleaning, but a spring cleaning is more thorough. We’ll do that now, even though it’s summer, haha.” 

“But why do we need old shirts to clean? And why is everything on the floor now?” 

“So we don’t mess up our good clothes. We’re going to get dusty, but don’t worry. We’ll take a shower when we’re done. And I’m putting all this here so I can box it up and pack it away.” Regis moved from the dresser to the closet to sort through there next. He passed each clothing item to a child, who would run to place it in the pile already on the floor. 

“We’re not going to do this with the toys, right? I still like all our toys.” Prompto dropped a sweater onto the growing fabric lump. Noctis frowned. “Yeah, we can’t get rid off any of those. We’re not too big for them yet.” 

Regis remembered the hassle that came with throwing toys away. “No, the only thing we’re doing in this room is taking out old clothes. Next, I think we should do the-“ 

“Bathroom!” “Kitchen!” 

“No, we won’t do the kitchen. That’s Weskham’s domain, and if we go in there and start moving stuff around he’ll make this face.” Regis twisted his mouth into the deepest frown he could manage and brought his eyebrows together in an imitation of rage. His sons burst out laughing at the strange display. 

“Hahahaha!” Prompto started laughing harder as Noctis tried to copy the expression. “Hahaha, look, I can do it too!”

“You don’t mess with people who make your food.” Regis allowed himself to chuckle at the realization that there was one room he didn’t really own in his house. He was okay with it, the chef kept it clean and prepared the best food. Honestly, it was a good system that he didn’t want to change. “We should leave the bathroom until we’re almost done. Let’s do the living room next. By the time we’re done in there it will probably be lunchtime.” 

“Daddy, where’s the box for all this stuff?” They had continued working after their little face fun, and now Noctis was putting the last shirt on the pile. Prompto lay down on top of everything. “It’s so soft…”

“There are boxes in the garage. I had Cor bring some over yesterday. Thankfully the grocery store had some they were willing to part with.” Regis left his sons in their room to go grab a cardboard container. Noctis joined Prompto on the pile, and more clothes became unfolded. The older brother started burying the younger one. “Oh no, where’d you go?” 

“Teehee, you can’t find me!” Prompto put on one of Noctis’ old shirts. “I’m you.” 

“No, you’re silly. Prompto, take that off. You should wear these pants as a shirt instead.” The impromptu fashion show was interrupted by Regis returning with the box. “My sons, you’re making a mess.” 

“Oops. We’re supposed to be cleaning…” Prompto took off the extra pants-as-a-shirt and tried to fold it neatly. He got pretty close, the cloth looked less like a lopsided jumble and more like a square. Noctis grabbed a sweater from the pile to try and help too. Working together made the job go quickly, and soon all three Caelums had put the newly folded clothes into the box. 

“Right. I’m going to put this box away, why don’t you two run ahead and check the living room for toys? Clearing those first will make the job easier.”

“Okay!” “Bet I can make it there first!” “Noct, wait up!”

-o-

“Move back!” Regis was moving the whole sofa aside, and he glanced back to make sure his sons had obeyed. It wouldn’t do to turn their cleaning day into a medical emergency. “Oofgh, this is heavier than I remembered…”

“Wow! Look at Daddy’s big muscles! He’s moving it all by himself!” The boys had rushed to the doorway upon their father’s command. There hadn’t been many toys for them to take back to their room, and so Regis had jumped right into the heavy duties. “Well, yeah, I got my muscles from him! Look, Prom!” 

Regis stopped shifting the furniture. “Ah… phew… Yeah, big muscles… haha. Oh man, I’m gonna be super sore tomorrow.” 

The boys ignored his griping in favor of exploring the previously inaccessible area. “My toy camera!” Prompto held his discovery aloft. “So that’s why I haven’t seen you playing with it. Not like it really mattered, you just use my phone to take real pictures.” 

Noctis picked up a crayon, a gil, a pen from Daddy’s office, two paper clips, and some lint. “Why is there stuff back here?” 

“It’s treasure!” “No, Prompto, it just fell back there or got kicked under.” “No, I think it is treasure, Daddy.” 

“Prompto is right. It’s like when you find stuff in games.” The important quest items went into his inventory (into his pocket). “Is this why you moved the sofa?” 

“No, I moved it because we need to vacuum.” 

“The vacuum is loud.” Prompto put the toy camera down and preemptively covered his ears. “Good thing it can’t suck us up like whooooooshflrbepsbp!”

“It is rather loud, but I need your help to make sure I get all the corners. Sit on the sofa for right now.” Regis fetched the vacuum from the hallway (he had grabbed it out of the garage after putting the clothes box away) as the boys clambered onto the sofa to watch. The father pushed the cleaning device all around the room, easily reaching the open spaces. He fought it in the area between the moved sofa and the wall. Turning off the vacuum, Regis sighed. “I’ll move the sofa back and vacuum that spot after we do this.” 

“Do what?”

“This.” The hose detached from the body of the vacuum and Regis showed his sons how to run it along the wall where it just greeted the carpet. “The detail work is easy. Would you like to take turns?” 

“Me first, I’m biggest!” Noctis almost snatched it from his father but Regis moved it back. “My son-“

“Sorry. May I please have it?” “Yes.” The hose was passed and the little boy began his job. Prompto watched, eager for his turn. “Oh, don’t miss this spot, Noct!”

“Here, you get it.” Prompto gladly accepted the vacuum piece and ran it along the designated area. “I did it all!” “Good job! Now let me move the sofa back and we can finish.”

Returned to order, the living room looked a little neater now that all of the carpet had been attended to. The boys jumped back into the sofa after it had been painstakingly pushed back to its spot. Regis wrapped the vacuum chord back up. “We can squeeze in a quick rundown of my office before lunch. Oh, and I’d like to get your room carpet as well.” 

Prompto and Noctis went ahead to the office to check the floor for anything that needed to be picked up, and Regis went back to the bedroom they had sorted out earlier. When he finished he joined the boys. “We got all your pens back into the little holder.” 

“Yeah, Noct found one under your chair and I found one on top of this paper mountain. Daddy, why do you have lots of stuff all over your desk?” Prompto poked a pile that was right next to the desk’s edge. Regis sighed and put some of the endless work back into the appropriate manila folder. “I know, my desk is a disaster zone. Let’s see, this goes up here.” 

He put a folder on the shelf, and his hand brushed through a thin layer of dust. “Ew, it’s disgusting in here. I… can’t remember the last time I cleaned this room.” Regis sent Prompto to fetch a sponge and asked Noctis to help him move everything off of the shelf. It all went piled on the floor for now, the various books and binders of business information would be put back later. 

“Here, I made it a little wet like you asked and I squeezed until some water came back out. Did I do it right?” Prompto held up the sponge, his forearms dripping. Noctis went to take the sponge and pass it to Regis. “You’re all wet, even your shirt.” 

“Oops…” The blond looked down, only just now realizing that he had splotches of water across his clothes. 

“You’ll dry, haha. The sponge is perfect, Prompto, thank you. Did you remember to turn off the faucet?” Regis started wiping the shelf down, trying to hurry. It was now lunchtime, but he just wanted to get the shelf clean and put the items back on. He could vacuum after lunch. “Yes, I did!” 

Noctis watched as his father tried to stretch to reach the top of what he was wiping. “You need to be taller to get up there.” 

“Yeah, I… No, I don’t. Come here, Prompto.” Regis lifted the lighter child up after handing him the sponge. “Wipe up there please.” Hehe, thank goodness his boys were still small enough to be lifted around like this. “This is really high, Daddy! Please don’t drop me!” 

“I won’t!” 

Prompto wiped what he could reach. Noctis tugged on Regis’ pants leg. “My turn, pick me up too.” Prompto was lowered and he passed the sponge to Noctis. The job was easy for the older boy, and his father held him steady despite him being a tiny bit heavier. “Done!” 

“Dust all gone!” Prompto clapped and Regis hurried to put everything back on the neater shelf. The boys handed him everything, and once again their teamwork made things go smoothly. 

“We can finish in here after lunch. Let’s go wash our hands really well so we can eat.” 

-o-

“I’m tired of cleaning.” Noctis flopped on the floor. Prompto also plopped down. “Why are there a lot of messes today?” The house never seemed this dirty before. How did Daddy keep finding things to sort through, wipe down, or vacuum? And how did he decide what was filthy enough to be scrubbed? To the children, the house didn’t look any different than normal. 

After lunch they had returned to the office to finish before moving on to Regis’ room, completely forgetting that they were supposed to do the bathroom instead. Actually, Regis had just finished in his room and informed the boys of their next job in that room. 

That’s when the whining started. 

“We have done quite a bit today…” Regis hadn’t gotten through everything he wanted to though. He still had to get to the garage too. The stroller and the baby carrier needed to be wrapped up or covered with something. The boys didn’t need them anymore. He stopped himself from running down his mental list. It could wait. “I know it’s early, but it’s showertime.” 

“Can we play video games when we’re done?” “Ooh, I want to do the racing game!”

“Yes, after we get cleaned up you two can play.” He could shower while they were playing, he knew they wouldn’t move from their spot once the television went on. There was no need to call Monica for the fifteen minutes it would take him to wash up. Besides, he had given her the day off. 

Not spending time on a bubble bath, the boys showered quickly so they could get to their game. Before long, the start screen music filled the living room and the clean boys settled on the couch. Regis hopped in the shower. 

Noctis picked challenge mode, and Prompto ‘oohed’ excitedly. “Noct, these races were super hard. Remember? The one had spikes AND lava, it was scary!” 

“Yeah, but I can beat it now. It’s not hard. And after I win then you can beat this race, the snowy mountain one.” The eldest pressed the button, and the challenging course loaded. His digital car zoomed between hazards until he accidentally drove it into a river of lava. “Grahrgrr! Let me try again before you go!” 

Prompto let him take another turn. And another. And another. He patiently waited, and he watched the virtual driver lose a few more times. “Can I try a race now, Noct?” 

“I’m so mad I can’t beat this one! You try it, beat it for me!” Noctis shoved the stupid controller at his brother before folding his arms. “I hate this board.” 

“I’ll try, but I wanted to do the snow one…” Prompto loaded up the lava board race again. He drove into some spikes a few feet from the starting line. “Aw, man!” 

“My turn.” The controller switched hands. “This board is stupid!”

“Can I try the-“ “We have to beat this one first!” “But Noct, you’re getting mad. You even said a bad word.” 

“Well, I- it is! We can’t beat it so it is stupid.” Noctis didn’t want to play anymore. Prompto hesitantly picked up the controller from where it Noctis had furiously dropped it on the sofa. He loaded the snow race. 

The little snowmobiler crashed into a tree, and Prompto tried to reverse so he could continue the race. He slammed into the same tree again. “Oh no!” 

Noctis stopped pouting to actually watch the game. 

Prompto’s character hit another tree. “Not again!” The digital person bounced back, and the snowmobile swerved wildly. Returning to the path, Prompto clipped the side of one tree and the snowmobile went skyrocketing toward the edge. It fell off and forced the game to reload. 

The boys burst out laughing. “Did you see that!?” Prompto tugged at Noct’s sleeve. He really didn’t need to, Noctis had witnessed the hilarious glitch. “Do it again, that was awesome! You’re not supposed to fly with the snowmobile!” 

Prompto purposely rammed into trees this time, trying to make the oddity occur once more. Noctis walked to the television and pointed. “Drive up this rock.” Prompto obeyed. “Okay, now drive BACKWARDS off the edge!”

The poor video game character had no choice in the matter. “Hahahahahahaha!!!” 

“What’s so funny?” Regis entered the living room to find Prompto on the sofa and Noctis standing two inches from the television. They were both laughing hysterically. 

“Daddy, watch this!” “Prompto, make it fly off again!” 

Regis watched, concerned that his sons were enjoying sacrificing the pixelated driver. “Aren’t you supposed to be finishing the race?” He sat down, enjoying feeling clean in his partially cleaned house. They could get back to all that tomorrow, he wasn’t going to do more work after he had already showered. 

“Yeah, but watch!” Prompto made the game reload the race. “Noct and I found this, hahaha! The little guy in the tv is bouncy!” By bouncy, he of course meant that he could be slammed into trees with no consequences. 

“May I have a turn?” Regis wanted to see what was so fun about flying top speed into the scenery. Noctis pointed. “Maybe you can beat the level!” Prompto passed the controller. “Yeah, Daddy, we need help really bad. I can’t win and even Noct was getting mad at it!”

“I’ll try, but I doubt I can beat it. I’m not good at these games.” Regis failed a couple of times, and he decided to give the racer a funny voice. “Oh, la dee da, I should watch out for the spikes- OOPS!” 

“Hahahaha!” 

“Do it again, do it again!” 

He did, until dinner time. Prompto and Noctis didn’t even mind that they hadn’t beaten the race.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, their June family vacation! They’ll be staying in the city this time but they will still find fun~


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry for disappearing for so long. 
> 
> I was overwhelmed and frustrated with work. On top of that I was angry at not having time to do the things I love, so much so that everything I wrote or drew came out wrong. I had lost my voice and creativity to fatigue. 
> 
> However, my work schedule will be changing drastically soon. Hopefully things will improve and I can properly deliver my writing to you. I promised I would finish this story, no matter how long it took. Thank you so much for all your support.

“It’s enormous!” Prompto stretched to try and see out of his carseat. From what Noctis could see out of his window, he had to agree. “We get to stay in there? Wow…”

Monica, who had been invited along to babysit while Regis was golfing with the others from his company, also expressed incredulity. Though she was technically working, going to such a location still made it feel like a vacation. “That is breathtaking…”

“There it is... The King’s Crown Hotel.” Regis was forced to stop the car. The line leading into the grounds was moving slowly through the gate as an attendant checked each vehicle. The Regalia eased to a stop and Regis rolled down the window. 

“Please state your name, sir.” 

“Regis Lucis Caelum.” The driver also pulled out his identification for the attendant to see. Copying his father’s ‘professional voice’ (the one he always used when he was on the phone), Noctis let the man outside know who he was too. “I’m Noctis and this is Prompto and up there is Monica!” 

Prompto shyly smiled as the attendant peeked in to see who was yelling at him. “Well, hello there, young men, Miss. Please enjoy your stay.” Stepping back after handing the identification to its owner, the attendant waved the car forward. It continued its journey to the hotel. 

-o-

After finding a parking spot, the family and their nanny walked in with their bags. Regis had two rolling suitcases, packed with everything the family would need. The boys had small bookbags, and these held their bathing suits. There was no reason they couldn’t help carry luggage too, and they had been happy to have ‘big boy jobs’. Monica had one bag to herself. 

“It’s so pretty in here…” Prompto held Noct’s hand as he looked around. The boys had to walk with Monica because Regis’ hands were full at the moment. The floor was shiny and had a fancy pattern. The ceiling was high, and there were large windows that let in a lot of light. The room had plants in pots placed between couches, doors, and next to hallways. People both bustled and meandered through the front hall as the Caelums and company walked to the check-in desk. The boys watched the conflicting movements of other hotel patrons with curiosity. 

A benign elderly woman greeted Regis, his sons, and Monica. The father explained who he was and that they were with his company for their trip. “Ah, yes! Some people from your party have already arrived. Please sign here.” 

Taking the pen next to the registry on the desk, Regis’ simple task was interrupted by a question. “Can we sign too!? We’re going to stay in the same room as you, Daddy!” As Regis waffled (should he really let them scribble in this book that wasn’t theirs?), Prompto tried to tell Noctis something very important. “Psst, but Noct! I don’t know how to write my name!! What do I sign?”

Smiling at the youths, the woman behind the counter pulled out a fancy stamper and an ink pad. “All you have to do is stamp next to your father’s name. We’ll count that as your signature.” She winked at Regis, who nodded gratefully. He lifted each son, one at a time, so they could ‘sign in’. This was easy, just like their stampers at home!

“Here is the key to your room. Please, do not hesitate to ask any of our staff should you need assistance.” The boys waved goodby to the counter lady, and she wiggled her fingers in an adieu.

Everybody followed Regis as he led them to the room that was named on the key. “Let’s see, floor fifteen room four. Looks like we need the elevator, haha.” 

“Regis, do you want me to take one of the suitcases? I feel bad that you’re rolling both heavy things…” 

“No thank you, Monica, you have my most important treasures in your hands. I can manage these silly bags.” Regis hoisted one that had decided to get stuck on the carpeting. Righting the troublesome weight, he stepped up to the elevator door and pressed the call button. 

Upon arrival, the family had to step back to allow the current passengers off of the elevator. When it was their turn to step in the boys marveled at all the buttons on the wall next to the door. Prompto pointed. “Can I push one, Daddy?” 

“No, Prompto, any button you push will take-“ His explanation came too slow, Noctis hadn’t waited for permission. It seemed they would be stopping at the fourth floor on their journey upwards. “You said room four, right?” 

“You were close, Noctis. Yes, our room is four but we need the fifteenth floor. We need to press this button.” Regis selected the proper choice and gently urged them to move away from the buttons. Monica shrugged. “Well, at least he was kind of listening.” 

“Haha, at least there’s that. Oh, the door is going to open soon. Stay here, that’s not our stop.” Regis ruffled his sons’ hair, having put the luggage down for a moment. The door opened at the incorrect floor and they all waited. They continued rising until they got to the tenth floor. An old couple had called the elevator, and they stepped on. Prompto stuck his thumb in his mouth, the space was becoming crowded with these new people. Noctis didn’t seem to mind the addition, even though Monica asked them to move closer to the wall to give the couple some breathing room. 

“Hello. Excuse me, ma’am, but your children are adorable.” The elderly woman was addressing Monica as her husband pressed the button for the twelfth floor. The nanny flustered. “Oh no, haha, they aren’t my sons, they’re his.” 

“Oh, you’re not together?” 

Regis cut in, chuckling. “No, she’s not the mother. May I ask something?” 

The inquisitive woman’s husband nodded. “Go ahead, since she’s asking you personal questions, haha.” “I was not! You’re always such a grouch, dear.” 

“It’s no trouble at all.” Regis really didn’t mind, he just thought it a bit amusing how people would assume things. He could understand mistaking Prompto as Monica’s, but Noctis literally had the exact same face as Regis (minus the beard and some years, of course). “This hotel has a restaurant of sorts, correct?” 

“Oh yes! The food is quite heavenly, you must give it a try.” “Yep, had to stop her from trying to bring some of it up to our room, haha.” The old couple started arguing a bit about how he was exaggerating and she was not a thief. The elevator floor stopped at their destination, and the conversation continued as they departed. 

“Well, they were quite the characters, eh? Prompto, thumb out please.” Regis shook his head. Noctis pointed at the door when it opened on their floor. “Now we get off too, right!?” 

“Yes.” Monica took their hands again to prevent them from running ahead as Regis grabbed the bags once more. Prompto adjusted his bookbag strap. “Where is the food?” 

“All that talk of food made you hungry, huh? It is getting close to lunch. Let’s drop our stuff off and then we can eat. We’ll have to ride the elevator back down.” 

“Okay, Daddy. My tummy is being a little grumbly right now.” Prompto watched as Regis unlocked their hotel room. Noctis gasped. “Look, Prom, it’s so fancy in there.” 

The room had two large beds, a small sitting area with four comfy-looking chairs, and from the doorway they could see the bathroom. Entering fully, Prompto and Noctis went to check it out as Regis and Monica put the luggage next to the beds. “Okay, so we’ll all sleep on this bed, and you can have the other one.” 

“This bed is huge!” Monica sat down on it before shielding herself. The boys had finished ‘oohing and aahing’ over the big bathtub and were coming in hot. Launching himself, Noctis flopped onto the covers with Prompto plopping close behind. 

Prompto rolled as Noctis stood up to jump. “Wait!” Regis intervened, not wanting them to break the bed. He didn’t really want to pay the hotel for a replacement. Yeah, he had the gil, but if word got out that he went around breaking hotel beds then he’d never be able to live it down. “I thought you wanted to eat now? We can explore our room more later.”

The promise of food convinced the children to come off of the soft bed. 

-o-

“Woah…” Eyes ate up all the available food long before their mouths had a chance to even sample anything. 

The buffet tables in the dining hall had a variety of food, from salads and soups to foreign styled meals from Tenebrae and Altissia. Even a few delicacies from Niflheim sat in the heated containers, and across from that table sat a dessert bar. 

Prompto subconsciously raised his hand, grasping at the display from his father’s arms. “That’s a lot of food… Can I have some?” 

“Of course. We came down to eat, right?” Regis let go of Noctis’ hand so he could set the younger boy down next to his brother. “Monica, I’ll need your help carrying the plates to the table.” 

“The plates are stacked here… There are so many of them.” She removed four plates from the pile next to the first buffet table. “Noctis, I’ll carry yours and you tell me which foods you want.”

“Oh, so Daddy will carry Prompto’s?” Aw man, maybe he could convince Monica not to put on as many vegetables! If Daddy had picked to carry his plate then he definitely would have gotten a lot, but Monica… Maybe she’d be less inclined to include such plant matter. “I want-“

“May I please have…”

“May I please have that one there? And that one next to it but not that soup next to it. Gross!” As Noctis’ food was piled on, Regis was helping Prompto fill his own platter. “May I please have that one, Daddy? Lots and lots please. Ooh, and what’s that!?”

“It says peppery daggerquill rice. I think I’ll take some of that.” 

“Me too, please! Thank you!” The boys trailed behind the adults as they moved around the tables. When the plates were full of food (all four plates, Regis and Monica could carry their own and the kids’) the group headed to sit at one of the dining tables. “I’m going to get drinks. Sit down here and get started.” Regis made sure his sons were situated before heading off. 

Happily digging into the meal, Prompto smiled at Noctis with full cheeks. “Dwhisiz smooooo gooooo!”

“Don’t speak with your mouth full.” Monica leaned over with a napkin to dab at his face as his brother answered. “Yeah, and I’m going to eat all of this so we can visit the snack table next!!” They had skipped the dessert bar… for now. The boys were determined to revisit that table when their platters were finished. 

Regis came back when they were almost done, pitcher of water in one hand and a stack of cups in the other. “Sorry about the wait, ran into Clarus over there. He said he has his kids here too, but they’re at the pool with ‘Jared’? Anyway, he is going to head out to the golf courses after this.” 

“Are we going golfing with you?” Noctis managed to get the question out between bites, Prompto’s mouth was still too full to ask anything. “No, you won’t like golf. It’s one of those acquired tastes. You two and Monica will pick something else to do, and I’ll meet up with you later.” 

Prompto had chewed and swallowed enough to speak again. “We won’t get to see you?” 

Noctis frowned. “Daddy, I don’t want you to go without us. We’re supposed to play together at this fancy hotel.” Regis sighed, partially expecting this outcome. “Well, you can come to the course. I guarantee you’ll want to leave though.” 

Monica nodded. “It’s okay, we can check it out. If you boys do decide you don’t like golf then we can definitely go swimming at the pool your father mentioned.” 

The plan sounded reasonable enough. “I’m ready for the snack table now.” 

“Wow, Noctis, you ate quickly. To be fair, I did get a late start though.” Regis was only partially through his food. “Prompto, finish your water and then I will take both of you to pick out dessert.” 

Keeping his word, the man followed his rambunctious children to the sweets. 

-o-

They lasted ten minutes. 

It was too hot, and all the grown-ups were doing was talking while one of them hit a ball really hard, and the sun was shining everywhere, and they couldn’t even run in all that grass because the groundskeeper would get mad, and it was too hot even in the shade of the awesome golf cart, and-

Thankfully, they had gone up to change after lunch. Prompto, Noctis, and Monica were in swimsuits while Regis was in his golf outfit. He was talking to men he kept calling Clarus and Dustin and Drautos and-

The boys lost track of the other names, not really caring much. It was too hot and sunny to be out here when the hotel had air conditioning and a pool. 

“Can we go to the pool now?” Prompto tapped Noctis’ shoulder. “Hold on, I will ask Daddy.” There really was no need, Monica had heard from her spot next to them on the golf cart. Still, she let the boy go tell his father that they would be leaving. 

“I knew it, haha. Have fun, and listen to Monica.” Regis parted from his coworkers and employees to give his baby boys a quick goodbye. “I’ll meet you back in the hotel room at... three? Yeah, three.” He estimated the game would be over by then, and that was a good chunk of time for them to enjoy the pool. 

Monica took the golf cart they had ridden in back, Regis would just sit in Clarus’ for the game. After parking, the children unbuckled the seatbelts and held their nanny’s hand as they went back inside. Following the directions of a handy hotel map that was posted in the cart’s parking lot, they found the pool. 

Unfortunately, so had everyone else in the hotel. 

The pool was packed, from the deep end to the kiddie side. Screeching children dove off the edge and splashed indiscriminately. Monica sighed as she helped them put on floatation devices (the pool offered supplies for the hotel guests to borrow). “Let’s try to find a spot with less people.”

Slowly wading into the shallow side, the boys clung to their nanny as they avoided people with babies, the tiny children sitting in large floatation inflatables. Some slightly older kids were orbiting their parents, encouraging them to watch their amazing swimming skills. It seemed everyone was yelling at the top of their lungs to be heard over each other and the splashing water. 

The trio passed an older gentleman with a baby in a cactuar floatie. A little girl with a flower bathing suit and pool rings on her arms swam around him, screeching. “Gladdy!” 

The boy she was referring to was right next to her and slamming his hands into the water violently. Prompto and Noctis shielded their eyes and Monica held the backs of their floaties to help move them away from him. The elder scolded the maniacal swimmer. “Gladio, your father said if you could not swim calmly then we had to head back up to the room.” 

“Aw, Jared, I’m just having fun! Look how high I can splash the water!” His latest display of maritime mastery resulted in Prompto and Noctis spluttering and rubbing at their faces. “Hey!” “Monicaaaa!” 

Not staying around to hear if the larger child was reprimanded for his behavior, Monica guided her charges to calmer waters. “Let’s stay on this side, that boy isn’t being a very good friend.” Monica glanced at the little terror again as she pushed the buoyant boys to safety. 

It didn’t help much. 

A teenager swimming past them kicked Monica, and an elderly lady knocked right into Prompto. Noctis was smacked on the foot as someone tried to swim under him. 

“This pool isn’t fun.” Noctis frowned at the surfacing mermaid who had cruelly hit him during their maneuver. Prompto rubbed at his eyes again, trying not to cry. There were too many people here and it was too loud. “Can we go home?” 

Monica pulled them closer. “No, we can’t go home yet.” 

“Wh-why not?” 

“Because we can’t just leave right now. What about your father?” Prompto leaned against Monica as she tried to soothe them both. The pool visit was supposed to be fun, but it most certainly was not. “How about… we go back to the hotel room and we use the bathtub? It will be like a private pool.” 

Noctis perked up. “No people being mean and splashing our faces?” 

“Yeah, and no getting kicked.” Monica frowned as that very thing happened to her. Again. “Oh, gross, there’s a bug in the water.” She tried to move it away, pushing the water to form small waves. 

That did it. Prompto and Noctis started swimming back towards the shallow end to escape, Monica a few seconds behind them. “Wait up, haha.” 

-o-

The bathtub pool was a much more enjoyable experience. 

“Can we add bubbles?” 

“Prompto, pools don’t have bubbles! Wait, do they?” Noctis turned to look at where Monica was seated at the tub’s edge. “Normal pools don’t, but if you want bubbles we can add them.” 

“Bubbles, please!” Prompto cupped some water in his hands. Noctis held his hands up. “Dump all that in my bucket.” 

“That’s not a bucket, haha!” Prompto poured the water into his brother’s hands anyway as Monica added the bubble soap to the tub. “Stir it up to spread the soap- Aah, don’t splash!” 

“Mixy mixy mix mix mix…” “I think we need more.” 

“No, no more bubbles.” Monica had just put the soap away. Noctis held up a single sud. “But it’s not bubbly enough!” 

Prompto poked the weak film dome and giggled when it popped. “May we pleeeaaaassseee have more?” 

“Oh, alright. What’s the harm in a little more?” Monica stood to get the soap again as they cheered, but she stopped. “I think I just heard the door.” 

“Who is it?” Prompto tried to look, but the bathroom door was partially closed. Noctis climbed out of the tub and drenched the floor in the process. “Don’t worry, I’ll go see.” 

His offer was unnecessary, there was a short knock on the door before Monica pushed it open. Regis stepped into the bathroom and was immediately pummeled into by a wet, bubbly child. Not long after, a second soaking boy was attached to him. 

“Hello, my sons! Why are you in the tub in your swimsuits? Wasn’t the pool enough swimming for you?” Regis knelt to hug them better, and the rest of his clothes were dampened. 

“The pool was horrible! Some kid kept splashing and everyone was pushing!” “Yeah, and I wanted to go home but we came up here instead to have more fun and we did!” 

“You’re back early, Regis. It’s only two thirty.” Monica picked up her phone, which had been left on the bathroom counter to serve as a clock and a radio. She stopped the low music that had been playing. 

“Yes, the game finished early because apparently none of us are very good at golf. We lost a few balls and Clarus accidentally hit Dustin’s shin with a golf club.” 

Prompto frowned at the news that someone was hurt. “Is he okay?” 

“It wasn’t hard! Clarus actually sort of dropped it, and it hit Dustin on the way down.” 

Noctis removed himself from his storytelling parent. “Come in the tub with us and swim.” 

“I may as well change, you’ve soaked me. But… I don’t think we’ll all fit in the tub.” Regis lifted Prompto and put him back in the tub with his brother. Monica had sat down on the closed toilet seat lid while the family talked, but she stood up now. “Do you want to check the pool again? Maybe less people are there?” 

Regis had been leaving the bathroom to go change. He stopped right outside to answer the nanny. “I doubt people have emptied out. We can check the buffet tables again though. Snacktime isn’t too far off.” 

The children cheered at the news that they would get to have more dessert from the delicious food bar. 

-o-

Regis put the hairbrush back into the suitcase. “I’m sorry, my sons. I forgot to bring a book for bedtime.” There had been other concerns when packing, mainly about including toothbrushes and enough underwear for everyone. 

The boys settled on the big hotel bed after their long day. They had gone back to the pool after snacktime. It had been only a little less crowded, but enough that there was room to avoid the other reckless swimmers. After that had been dinner, and after that showertime. Now they were ready for the nighttime rest. 

Well, kind of. 

Regis sat on the bed next to his babies. “I could tell you a story from my youth instead?” 

“Ooh, I love your stories!” Prompto pulled the blanket up to his chin. Noctis had to push it back down, he didn’t want it that high on his end. “Can we hear something with a crazy ending? Like, there’s a big monster surprise?”

Monica, who had been in the shower, cane out of the bathroom. She caught the tail end of the tale request. “Big monster surprise?” She took the towel off of her hair and hung it on one of the room’s chairs. 

“Yeah, Noct wants a monster story. But can you make it a not scary one, Daddy? Like your behemoth one, that one wasn’t super creepy.” Regis dramatically tapped his chin. “So we want a story that’s not scary but it has a big monster surprise… Let me think…” 

Realizing which story he could tell, he stood to switch the room light for the bedside lamps. “Did I ever tell you about the time Cid and I saw a kujata?”

“No!” “That’s the big thing, right?” “You actually saw one?” 

Haha, even Monica was interested. “We saw three. It was a sunny day when we were driving through the Mencemoor. Cid and I had just passed a gas station when…” As Regis told his story he noticed that the boys weren’t getting sleepier. That was a problem, it was already past bedtime. “I told him not to poke it, but- Hey. I’ve been telling this story for a while and you both are still wide awake. What’s wrong?” 

Prompto sat up. “This bed is different.” Noctis nodded. “The pillow is too soft. My head feels like I’m sinking too low.” 

“Ah, it’s unfamiliar. Is that making it uncomfortable?” Regis understood. He glanced at Monica, who had fallen asleep during his long-winded story. “Well, look. Sleep is possible despite the new surroundings.” 

The boys giggled, trying to keep quiet so she could dream peacefully. Regis adjusted so he was between Prompto and Noctis on the bed. Oh, they were right. It was too soft. “How about we lay like this and I will finish the story?” 

Prompto held a fistful of his father’s shirt when he got to the scary part where he and Cid were almost stepped on. Noctis fell right out after that, satisfied that he got to hear about a big creature. 

“Daddy? This is better. It feels a bit like when we do this at home.” Prompto closed his eyes, unable to resist the need for sleep. 

“Yes, it is more comfortable even though it’s a new experience. Oh, you’re out. Good night.”


End file.
